LA Noncitizen Vote Delayed
LA Council Delays Noncitizen Voting Measure for Study Amid Legal and Privacy Questions
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Key Points
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The proposed noncitizen voting measure would specify eligibility to include people with certain lawful statuses, such as DACA recipients, Temporary Protected Status holders, and legal permanent residents, not just all noncitizens.
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In a separate action, the council scrapped a proposal to expand its power over LAPD policy after the rank-and-file officers’ union threatened to sue; the LAPD oversight measure was rejected in an 8-6 vote to study further.
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A City Attorney’s Office report raised concerns that the charter amendments could leave major election decisions to future City Councils and questioned whether a provision intended to limit how often councils could amend such rules would be legally enforceable.
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San Francisco’s experience with noncitizen voting is cited as a cautionary precedent, with warnings that voter information could be obtained by federal immigration authorities such as ICE.
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LAist notes the scale of potential impact by highlighting that about 1.3 to 1.4 million of Los Angeles residents are noncitizens, comprising roughly 36% of the city’s population.
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on June 30 to pull a noncitizen voting measure from the November ballot, sending it back to committee for more study. The proposal would have let roughly 1.3 to 1.4 million noncitizen residents — about 36% of the city's population — vote in local and school board elections, according to LAist.
Minutes later, the council voted 8-6 to shelve a separate measure that would have expanded its power over LAPD policy. Both decisions effectively kill any chance of major charter changes appearing on the November 3 ballot.
A Unanimous Vote After Months of Momentum
The council had given the noncitizen voting measure a 10-5 preliminary green light on June 18. Just twelve days later, every member flipped or fell in line, voting 15-0 to pull it. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, the measure's main champion, called the reversal "almost laughable" after a yearlong process. He agreed to the retreat only to avoid what he called a "negative" public perception.
The measure would have opened the ballot to DACA recipients, Temporary Protected Status holders, and legal permanent residents — not all noncitizens. Supporters argued that residents who pay taxes and send children to city schools deserve a voice in local government. LAist noted the sheer scale: noncitizens make up more than a third of all Los Angeles residents.
City Attorney Report Raised Serious Legal Red Flags
A City Attorney's Office report played a key role in cooling council support. It raised two main concerns. First, a provision meant to limit how often future councils could change voting rules might not be legally enforceable. Second, the draft left too many big decisions — like exact eligibility rules and how to verify registration — to be worked out later by ordinance rather than locked into the Charter itself.
Councilmember Traci Park said voters deserved clarity before approving anything. "My concern here is that if this goes to the ballot, the voters won't really know what they're voting for, because we don't really know either," she said. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez added that the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder had not been fully consulted on how to run a separate ballot for noncitizens — a step that could have forced the city to fund its own parallel election system.
San Francisco's ICE Warning Haunted the Debate
Councilmember John Lee pointed to San Francisco as a warning sign. Since 2016, San Francisco has let noncitizen parents vote in school board elections. But its registration forms carry a stark notice: voter data "may be obtained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)." Lee said those risks "must be addressed before Los Angeles asks voters to approve a similar system."
New York City tried a similar measure in 2021. State courts struck it down, ruling it violated the state constitution. Both cases loomed over the L.A. debate as evidence that noncitizen voting faces steep legal and political hurdles, according to us.headtopics.com.
Police Union Threat Kills LAPD Oversight Measure Too
The LAPD oversight measure died the same afternoon. The Los Angeles Police Protective League had sent a formal letter on June 17 threatening to sue the city, claiming the council skipped required labor talks — known as "meet and confer" negotiations — before moving ahead. After a closed session, the council voted 8-6 to delay the measure, avoiding a lawsuit it likely would have lost.
Both measures now sit in the Rules, Elections, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee. Political observers say items sent back for "further study" during an election year rarely resurface for two to four years. Soto-Martínez and other supporters have signaled they plan to push again in 2028, with stronger data-privacy protections built in from the start.
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