With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
Judge orders Santa Ana to remove ‘flawed’ language from ballot measure that would allow noncitizens to vote in city elections
Santa Ana welcome sign
(
albertc111/Getty Images
/
iStockphoto
)
Topline:
An Orange County Superior Court judge on Thursday ruled that Santa Ana must remove some of the language on a November ballot measure that would allow non-US citizens to vote in city elections.
What’s the change? The ballot question approved by the Santa Ana City Council is: “Shall the City of Santa Ana City Charter be amended to allow, by the November 2028 general municipal election, noncitizen City residents, including those who are taxpayers and parents, to vote in all City of Santa Ana municipal elections?”
But Judge Kimberly Knill ruled in June that the original measure’s line mentioning “taxpayers and parents” must be taken out, saying the “language is flawed.” According to the judge’s order, “the inclusion of the words ‘taxpayers and parents’ is not impartial. Instead it reflects partiality, because it excludes other categories of voters who are not taxpayers or parents.”
Sponsored message
The Santa Ana City Council had voted to keep the language regardless, however, Knill on Thursday ordered the phrase be removed from the measure before ballots are printed at the end of August.
Who is behind the lawsuit? James Lacy, president of the nonprofit groups U.S. Justice Foundation and California Public Policy Foundation, and Santa Ana resident Pasquale Talarico filed the lawsuit, arguing the phrase would cast the measure “in a more favorable light by highlighting sympathetic groups of voters who will receive voting rights under the proposal.”
What are city officials saying? The majority of Santa Ana’s city council members support the ballot measure.
“We are going to go forward with our ballot measure, we are going to win our ballot measure with a few words missing,” Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez said at a news conference after Thursday’s ruling.
Councilmember Johnathan Hernandez said the judge’s decision “censored” the identities of some residents in the city.
Trending on LAist
-
The “Builder’s Remedy” is coming to Norwalk after the city defied state officials and extended a ban on homeless shelters. -
This guide is for parents and families that want to better understand the condition of their child’s school — and how to advocate to get it fixed. -
Residents have been forced to decide whether to move or stay as an unrelenting landside forces power and gas shutoffs. -
The city’s mayor says the new law doesn’t apply to the beach city. -
Earlier this month, we did a story on the die-hard Tree of Heaven with surprising resonance. -
New rules will have to be approved by L.A. City Council members by February as the city faces a mandate to plan for more than 450,000 new homes by 2029. Areas of the city zoned for single-family homes are in hot pink.
Best of LAist
