When he was in second grade, Alexis Jaimes asked his undocumented parents who they would be voting for in the upcoming elections.

“They said they couldn’t, and I found that so strange,” Jaimes, now a 30-year-old teacher, told Truthout. “Why can’t they, but others could?”

Voting rights confer dignity, social standing, and political education upon those who hold them, and this reasoning applies to noncitizens as well. Like citizens, noncitizen residents have a vested interest in local governance, are subject to laws, contribute to the workforce, pay taxes, and some even serve in the military. 

It’s illegal for people who are not U.S. citizens to vote for president or other federal offices, and there is no indication of widespread voter fraud.

But a growing number of communities across the United States are passing laws allowing residents who aren’t U.S. citizens to vote in local elections such as city council and mayoral races. Supporters say it’s only fair since they live in the communities and pay taxes.

Sin embargo, un creciente número de comunidades de todo Estados Unidos están aprobando leyes que permiten a los residentes legales que no tienen la nacionalidad estadounidense votar en elecciones locales como las de consejos municipales y alcaldías. Los partidarios dicen que es justo ya que viven en las comunidades y pagan impuestos.

Miguel Quin, a Mexican immigrant without legal status who came to the U.S. when he was 5, said that as a longtime resident of Santa Ana, he would like to have his voice heard.

“I've been working two jobs for most of my life,” said Quin. “We all pay taxes. We all contribute to the city.”

The proposal, which would not apply to statewide and federal votes, would place Santa Ana in the company of nearly 20 cities and localities around the country that already allow some form of noncitizen voting.

Among Santa Ana’s population of 310,000, more than 20% of them are non-U.S. citizens. If passed, the Santa Ana City Charter would be amended to allow non-citizens to vote in all Santa Ana municipal elections by November 2028.

La medida “DD” cuenta con el apoyo de votantes locales como Jesica Rivera, quien dijo que participará en las próximas elecciones.

“Creo que tienen todo el derecho de votar y de decir así como cualquier ciudadano legal de aquí”, dijo Rivera.

“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.”

Louis DeSipio, UC Irvine professor of political science and Chicano/Latino studies, said in the late 1800s and early 1900s, around half of the states in the nation allowed non-U.S. citizens to vote in state elections.

In the three videos, Latino and Vietnamese residents, young and old, shared their experiences of grassroots organizing around those issues. There’s a shared bottom line: Immigrant deportation, rising rent and a lack of representation in local government don’t discriminate.

"We pay more than $170 million in state and local taxes and we want to have a say in how our city government is run just like everyone else."

Immigrant residents, including noncitizens, in Orange County contributed $10.5 billion in taxes in 2018, according to the American Immigration Council, however, they have no say in how their tax dollars are spent locally, proponents of the measure say.

The ACLU SoCal 2024 Ballot Guide also includes endorsements for Yes on Prop 6, which will close the loophole for the slavery-era “exception clause” that allows forced labor as punishment of a crime and Measure DD in Santa Ana, which would give noncitizen residents the right to vote in city council, mayoral, and municipal elections starting in 2028.

If the measure passes, Santa Ana will become the first city in California to allow non-U.S. citizens to vote in its municipal elections. (Voters in San Francisco and Oakland passed measures allowing non-U.S. citizens to vote in school board elections, although Oakland has yet to implement it.)

La coalición Familias de Santa Ana por Elecciones Justas (SAFFE) fue formada en el verano del 2023 y compuesta de residentes mexicanos, centroamericanos, vietnamitas, jóvenes, adultos y organizaciones que están a favor de ampliar los derechos electorales para todos los residentes de Santa Ana, incluyendo los no ciudadanos.

If passed, DD would amend Santa Ana’s municipal charter and allow non-citizen residents of the city, both documented and undocumented, to vote in all local elections.

In the city of Santa Ana — the county seat, where the largest population of immigrants in Orange County lives — noncitizen residents pay an estimated over $117 million in state and local taxes every year.