The proposal for a vote on non-resident voting in LA was removed from the ballot
The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to put a measure on the 3rd ballot that would have created a way to allow non-residents to vote in local elections.
The council, by unanimous vote, sent the draft ballot to a committee for additions after several council members said it had not been properly vetted.
Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez admitted he didn’t do enough about the proposal, and received letters from members of the Black community expressing his concerns.
“I grew up in South Central Los Angeles. Black and brown solidarity is deep for me, and it means something to me, and I don’t want this to be a passing thing that’s seen as a bad thing, a bad thing for the city of Los Angeles,” he said.
Soto-Martínez said he will continue to pursue this proposal in the next election so that when it passes, the city will have a “big celebration.”
The non-resident voting proposal was not the only one rejected by the council at the 11th hour.
In a separate vote, the council rejected plans for a Nov. 3 ballot measure that would have given council members power over policy at the Los Angeles Police Department. The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, whose members are appointed by the mayor, currently has that responsibility.
The council voted 8-6 to continue studying the ballot proposal after the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents LAPD officers, threatened to sue the city, saying labor negotiators failed to meet and negotiate with them on the proposal.
A plan to extend voting rights to non-citizens was unveiled by Soto-Martínez two months ago. It would have authorized the City Council to pass legislation allowing non-citizens to vote in LA city and school board elections.
But many details have yet to be finalized, such as which teams will get a franchise and whether Los Angeles County election officials will be able to use the program.
These questions were raised again on Tuesday by Councilor Traci Park, who voted “yes” on this proposal two weeks ago, but said that this time too much is unknown about how it will work. He expressed fears about the city’s ability to protect nonresident voters if federal immigration agents show up at polling places.
“What worries me here is that if this goes to the election, the voters will not really know what they are voting for, because we don’t really know either,” he said. “These are things that should be considered early on before we put anything into the charter.”
Councilman John Lee raised the alarm on San Francisco’s election website. San Francisco allows non-citizens to vote in school board elections, and the website includes a notice: “Any information you provide to the Department of Elections, including your name and address, may be obtained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies, organizations, and individuals.”
“Given the experience of being the only city in California that allows non-resident voting, it’s not a shame to voice these concerns,” he said. “These are real issues that must be resolved before Los Angeles asks voters to approve a similar plan.
Soto-Martínez said he views the warnings from Lee and Park as fearmongering, noting that immigrant rights groups are ready to move forward with his proposal.
“This country was created by people who were brave and pushed for everyone to have the right to vote,” he said.
Times staff writer Noah Goldberg contributed to this report.
