Santa Ana in Orange County could soon be the first California city to permit noncitizens to vote in all municipal elections.
Measure DD, which will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot, would allow noncitizens to vote in city elections starting no later than November 2028, according to the City of Santa Ana website. About 23 percent of the city’s population are noncitizens, according to the Census Bureau.
If passed, the measure would allow both legal and illegal immigrants to vote in all local elections, including the mayoral and city council races, as well as on proposed sales tax increases and municipal bond measures.
Former Santa Ana Councilmember Nelida Mendoza wrote the argument against Measure DD. Mendoza argued that implementing the ordinance would cost local taxpayers $10 million and result in budget cuts to public safety, emergency services, and other city functions.
“We support our immigrant residents and Santa Ana is a vibrant city rich in the traditions of immigrant communities, families, and businesses,” she wrote. “But we must assess the importance of protecting neighborhoods, cleaning and fixing our streets, and picking up trash.”
The ballot measure gained the support of councilmembers Johnathan Hernandez, Benjamin Vazquez, and Jessie Lopez and the mayor pro tem, Thai Viet Phan.
In a letter of support for Measure DD, council members argue that, over the first 150 years of U.S. history, 40 states and territories allowed noncitizen voting at various times.
“Federal law is clear that noncitizens can vote in local elections if state and local law allows it,” they wrote in favor of the measure.
Carlos Perea, Santa Ana Police oversight commissioner, told The Epoch Times, “Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party actually defended noncitizen voting as an important part of the pathway to citizenship, while pro-slavery forces at the time tried to end noncitizen voting because immigrants generally opposed slavery. We’re building on Lincoln’s legacy by fighting for Measure DD.”
Councilmembers Phil Bacerra and David Penaloza and Mayor Valerie Amezcua were in the minority that voted against bringing the measure to voters.
Measure DD is being watched nationally because of the hot-button nature of the proposal.
The Republican Party has made Voter ID part of its 2024 agenda, and House Republicans held a hearing in May on how to prevent noncitizens from voting. Republicans have also supported the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, where it’s illegal for noncitizens to vote.
Presently, non-U.S. citizens can vote in local school board elections in San Francisco. Oakland has also passed such a measure.
In Huntington Beach, a coastal Orange County city situated less than 15 miles to the west of Santa Ana, voters passed a measure requiring voter ID. However, the state filed suit to stop the measure. The governor also signed Senate Bill 1174 into law in September. The law bans local governments from enacting or enforcing any regulation that requires voters to present identification at the polls.
