LA City Council Advances Measure to Allow Noncitizens to Vote in Local Elections

In a 10-5 vote on Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council advanced a charter amendment (see below) that could eventually allow noncitizens to vote in citywide and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) elections. The proposal, introduced by DSA Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez (District 13), will appear on the November 3, 2026 ballot as part of a broader package of city charter reforms.

Councilmembers who voted in favor (10) include: Hugo Soto-Martínez (District 13, sponsor), Eunisses Hernandez (District 1), Nithya Raman (District 4), Katy Yaroslavsky (District 5), Imelda Padilla (District 6), Marqueece Harris-Dawson (District 8, Council President), Heather Hutt (District 10), Traci Park (District 11), Ysabel Jurado (District 14), and additional members of the progressive majority. 

Councilmembers who voted against (5): Monica Rodriguez (District 7), Bob Blumenfield (District 3), John Lee (District 12), Tim McOsker, and Adrin Nazarian (District 2).

If approved by voters, the measure would amend the city charter to authorize the City Council to later enact an ordinance establishing “residential voting” for municipal and school board races. Proponents argue it gives taxpaying noncitizen residents who live, work, and raise families in Los Angeles, a voice in local decisions that affect them directly. Soto-Martínez framed the effort as basic fairness, stating, “If you live in the city, contribute to the city, raise your family in the city and are impacted by the decisions made in the city, you deserve to have a voice in the city.” He has highlighted his own family’s immigrant background from Mexico. 

“After my parents immigrated here from Mexico, they worked hard, paid taxes, and raised their kids in our public schools, but for decades they had no say in the decisions shaping their community until they became citizens,” he said.

Jurado, a tenants’ rights attorney and daughter of undocumented Filipino immigrants, co-signed the proposal. Both are aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) bloc on the council, which includes members like Eunisses Hernandez and Nithya Raman, a faction that has repeatedly pushed expansive immigrant protections amid federal enforcement actions under the Trump administration

Councilmembers who voted against the proposal expressed concerns about implementation, election administration by Los Angeles County, and potential risks to noncitizens amid federal immigration enforcement. Monica Rodriguez warned that creating a voter database could make individuals “the target [of] another potential federal administration.” 

Supporters, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), argue the change addresses “taxation without representation.” CHIRLA head Angelica Salas said green card holders, DACA recipients, and other noncitizens pay taxes, send children to public schools, and live under the same local policies, so they deserve input on who represents them. 

Critics see it as the latest step in a coordinated effort to erode the fundamental distinction between citizens and noncitizens. Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) called it an assault on citizenship itself. “It undermines the whole concept of citizenship, and what it means to be a member of American society,” Mehlman said. “That is a privilege and a right that is reserved for citizens.” 

This isn’t the first time California localities have tried to extend voting rights to noncitizens. California Globe readers will recall that Santa Ana voters soundly rejected a similar ballot measure in November 2024 by a decisive 62% to 38% margin, with opponents arguing that “voting is a precious right that citizens will not so easily give up or dilute.” San Francisco’s 2016 charter amendment allowing noncitizens to vote in school board elections was later struck down by a judge, who ruled it diluted the voting rights of citizens. Oakland voters approved a comparable measure in 2022, but it has yet to be implemented. 

Mayor Karen Bass and other officials have not issued detailed statements specifically on this vote, but the action reinforces the city’s resistance to federal immigration priorities.

As the California Globe has long documented, this latest push builds directly on Los Angeles’ commitment to sanctuary policies that shield illegal alien residents and thwart federal law.

The City Council unanimously passed a sanctuary city ordinance in late 2024 that codified limits on cooperation with federal immigration authorities, a move the Globe covered extensively as part of Mayor Karen Bass and City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s efforts to shield the city from incoming Trump administration enforcement. 

Mayor Bass’s subsequent executive actions banning ICE staging on city property and increasing oversight of federal agents, which escalated tensions between local progressive policies and federal authority. These developments followed broader county-level moves, such as LA County Supervisors’ approval of “ICE-free zones” on public property in early 2026. 

With roughly 1.1 million unauthorized immigrants estimated in Los Angeles County alone, and broader noncitizen figures in the metro area exceeding two million, the scale is enormous. Proponents claim noncitizens already “have skin in the game.” Opponents counter that citizenship is the game: it requires allegiance, naturalization, and acceptance of the responsibilities that come with U.S. citizenship.

Los Angeles voters will ultimately decide their fate in November.