Next Tuesday, Santa Ana voters will decide whether to allow non-citizens to participate in the local voting process. Measure DD would make Santa Ana the first city in California to allow non-citizen voting in municipal elections.
The measure is supported by the ACLU of Southern California, labor organizations, immigrant rights groups, and city leaders such as Councilmember Jonathan Hernandez. It is opposed by Mayor Valerie Amezcua, Councilmember David Penaloza, and others. They cite the costs associated with the proposal and the potential for lawsuits against the city.
If Measure DD passes, Orange County would no longer run elections in Santa Ana. That responsibility would fall on the city clerk. The logistical concerns are secondary to arguments that the measure may be unconstitutional and would almost certainly spark a protracted legal fight.
Julia Gomez, staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California, likens the fight for Measure DD to women’s suffrage and the 15th Amendment.
“Our values change over time,” Gomez told ABC News. Measure DD is a “reflection of the fact that, at least communities in Santa Ana are ready to make a value judgment that shows, ‘Yes, we respect our neighbors and we think our neighbors should have a right to vote because they have a stake in this democracy.’”
Although no other California city allows non-citizen voting, non-citizens in San Francisco can cast votes in school board races.
Only citizens can legally cast votes in federal elections. That hasn’t stopped Republicans from claiming that undocumented immigrants are voting in presidential races. If Santa Ana’s Measure DD passes, it will almost certainly garner national attention and could fuel conspiracy theories about the U.S. election system.