Judge Rules City Of Santa Ana Must Revise Non-Citizen Voting Measure

The city of Santa Ana has until June 14 to respond to a ruling by an Orange County Superior Court judge asking the city to update language in a November ballot measure that could extend voting rights to non-U.S. citizens.

James Lacy, president of the nonprofit groups United States Justice Foundation and California Public Policy Foundation, and Pasquale Talarico, a resident of Santa Ana, filed a lawsuit against the city stating that language in the ballot measure — “including those who are taxpayers and parents” — is “unlawfully partisan” and could influence the outcome of the election.

In their lawsuit, they state that it would cast the measure “in a more favorable light by highlighting sympathetic groups of voters who will receive voting rights under the proposal.”

Lacy told LAist that the language violates election code because “it prejudicially informs the voter in a way to encourage a yes vote on the ballot measure.”

Ballot measures, he said, should be presented to voters in a neutral way.

The city of Santa Ana has declined to comment on this story.

Previous litigation

The U.S. Justice Foundation previously sued San Francisco Unified School District after residents voted for an ordinance in 2016 allowing non-citizen parents of children in local schools to cast ballots in school board elections.

Following the lawsuit, the San Francisco Superior Court found that the ordinance violated the state constitution and rescinded the non-citizen parents' right to vote. The ruling also prohibited the city from allowing non-citizens the right to vote in other elections.

But then an appeals court ruled that the ordinance did not violate the California Constitution, restoring non-citizen parents' right to vote.

“I believe that we can continue to challenge this issue of non-citizen voting, probably with better results in the federal court system,” Lacy said. “The California state court system, particularly the appellate system, is really populated by liberal Democratic judges.”

What are other cities doing?

Voting by non-citizens, which includes permanent residents or green card holders, refugees and asylum-seekers. is allowed in some cities including in Vermont and Washington D.C.

In Washington D.C., noncitizen ballots differ from a regular ballot and only include local races like those for city councils and school boards.

Federal law explicitly prohibits non-citizens from casting ballots. But, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 states that non-citizens can vote if they are "authorized to vote for such other purpose under a State constitution or statute or a local ordinance.”