With backing of Nithya Raman, L.A. takes another step toward letting non-citizens vote in local elections

L.A. mayoral candidate and city councilwoman Nithya Raman.

Non-citizen voting in elections took a step closer to becoming reality on Wednesday after the Los Angeles city council approved a measure that will put the idea on the ballot as a referendum for the Nov. 3 general election. 

The L.A. city council voted 10-5 on Wednesday, according to The Los Angeles Times, to advance the proposal introduced in April by City Council member Hugo Soto-Martínez and co-signed by Ysabel Jurado, another city council member. The proposal had also drawn public support from Eunisses Hernandez, another member of the city council, and, last month, Mayor Karen Bass indicated she was open to the idea of people who aren't citizens of the U.S. vote in some local elections.

Nithya Raman, the socialist city council member who will face incumbent Karen Bass in the November election also voted in favor of the measure. Soto-Martínez praised the outcome, saying, "If you live in the city, contribute to the city, raise your family in the city and are impacted by the decisions made in the city, you deserve to have a voice in the city."

Raman, in a recent interview with a local TV station, expressed tepid support for the measure when asked about it. "I think yes, absolutely, in a city which has so many immigrants. I’m an immigrant myself to this country, which has a vibrant civic landscape," she replied when questioned on whether she had a stance on non-citizen voting.

If L.A. voters approve the referendum in November, the city council will have the power to pass an ordinance allowing noncitizens to vote in citywide elections and school board elections. 

The measure also has some genuine critics who oppose the idea on moral grounds. Councilman John Lee, who voted against the proposal said he did so over concerns that allowing noncitizens to vote could compromise election integrity, or even simply give the appearance of weakened election integrity.

"Election laws are different from ordinary policy decisions. They establish rules under which elected officials are chosen and held accountable, and because of that, changes to voting eligibility should be approached with the utmost public trust and legitimacy," Lee said, according to ABC7.

Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform told The Los Angeles Times in April that it "undermines the whole concept of citizenship, and what it means to be a member of American society." Mehlman said enacting such a measure would encourage people to "just show up from the outside and have an equal voice in how the city is run."

But not everyone who voted against the proposal actually oppose its substance.

Monica Rodriguez, one of the five city council members who voted against the proposal, said her primary opposition to the measure was that it could aid immigration enforcement in Los Angeles. "Given the dynamics that we have right now, what we're creating is a list of individuals that could then just be the target [of] another potential federal administration," Rodriguez said, according to The Los Angeles Times. 

Others who opposed the proposal reportedly did so because they believe the city doesn't have the infrastructure to implement a non-citizen voting program. And some have concerns that enacting the measure would result in additional costs for the city that haven't been fully assessed yet, according to The California Post.

Others have expressed concerns that, if approved, the measure would be a slippery slope to allowing non-citizens to vote in bigger elections, like those held for governor and U.S. president. According to estimates, there are as many as 2.2 million illegal immigrants living in the L.A. area, in addition to those who aren't citizens but are in the U.S. legally. In the primary race, Raman benefited from homeless voters who were registered at shelters, with indications that not all of those voters were actually from L.A.