A proposal to allow noncitizens to vote in Los Angeles city elections will not appear on the November general election ballot after the city council Tuesday decided to further review measure.
The motion, introduced by Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, was going to ask LA voters whether they want the city to explore the option of permitting noncitizens to vote in local elections, including mayoral and city council races.
But the council voted unanimously to send the motion back to the Ad Hoc Committee on Charter Reform after two councilmembers expressed concerns of voters privacy and potential future repercussions as seen in the city of San Francisco, which now allows noncitizen parents and caregivers to vote in school board elections only.
Reading from a San Francisco sample ballot, Councilmember John Lee noted that noncitizen voters in San Francisco are warned “any information (voters) provide to the Department of Elections, including (their) name and address, may be obtained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE.”
“It is not fear mongering to raise these concerns,” Lee said during Tuesday’s city council meeting. “They are real issues that must be addressed before Los Angeles asks voters to approve a similar system.”
Lee, who added the proposal was never discussed with the Charter Reform Committee, also pointed out San Francisco warns noncitizen voters that if they apply for naturalization in the future, they will be asked whether they have ever voted in local elections. They are also urged to consult with an immigration attorney, according to the message that Lee read from the sample ballot.
Councilmember Traci Park also said the motion did not receive “any real review or scrutiny.”
“If this passed, how are we going to protect people from the feds using it to target them?” Park said. “We don’t know, and we don’t have any control over what could happen.”
Park suggested the motion should clearly define the eligibility requirements for noncitizen voting as well as “the phrase legal resident”, adding San Francisco decided to allow noncitizen voting after years of public debate and review.
“Let’s send this back where it belongs, and let’s have that thoughtful and careful discussion and consideration,” Park recommended. “Let’s take the time that we need to hear from the public, get the legal advice, and put in the time warranted for something of this magnitude.”
The motion’s author, Councilmember Soto-Martinez, agreed that there are “a lot of things that need to be worked out” but said warning by Park and Lee are fear-mongering.
“To cite the website from San Francisco to say as a reason why we shouldn’t do something, I am personally insulted by it,” Soto-Martinez said. “‘I’m not moved by the fear mongering, because when I spoke to the immigrants rights groups, they said, ‘We want to do this.'”
The councilmember for City District 13 includes Echo Park Silver Lake, Echo Park and Westlake District, admitted he did not consult with Black constituents on the proposal.
Council members Bob Blumenfield, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Heather Hutt, Lee, Tim McOsker, Adrin Nazarian, Park and Monica Rodriguez voted to send the matter to committee for further study.
It was not immediately clear when the city council committee will begin discussing the proposal.
The goal now is to continue with discussion to possibly placing the issue before voters in 2028.