A Los Angeles City Council member has introduced a motion to put noncitizen voting on the November 2026 ballot. If voters approve the charter change, the City Council would gain the power to pass an ordinance letting noncitizens cast ballots in elections for city offices and Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education seats. The motion was filed by Council Member Hugo Soto-Martinez. It still has to clear the council’s rules committee and then the full City Council before it can reach the ballot, but the destination is spelled out in plain language in the official filing. LA proposal would allow noncitizens to vote in local elections A Los Angeles City Council member is proposing to let noncitizens vote in city elections, arguing it’s a matter of fairness for residents who pay taxes and contribute to their communities. If approved by the council… — The Center Square (@thecentersquare) May 4, 2026 The proposal has drawn immediate national attention and sharp criticism from conservatives who see it as an attempt to dilute the votes of American citizens in the country’s second-largest city. This is absolutely NUTS. Los Angeles Democrats are actively working on changes that would allow NONCITIZENS to vote in their elections They say it’s fine because it happens in other places already, and a lot of LA residents aren’t legal. “Close to 40% of the city of Los… pic.twitter.com/7aAVyKyRSU — Blue Lives Matter (@bluelivesmtr) May 3, 2026 The Los Angeles City Clerk published the official motion on April 29: The motion states that Los Angeles is shaped by immigrant communities numbering more than 1.35 million residents and ties those communities to the city’s history, identity, culture, and accomplishments. It frames the proposal against the backdrop of federal immigration enforcement, citing raids, incarceration, family separation, lost income driven by fear, birthright-citizenship legal battles, travel bans, and taxpayer spending on immigration actions. The motion then turns to charter reform. It acknowledges that the city does not have authority to fully halt federal immigration enforcement but argues it does have the ability, through charter changes, to enfranchise immigrant residents in city and LAUSD Board of Education elections. The requested action instructs the City Attorney to prepare ballot language for a November 2026 charter amendment that would grant the City Council power to introduce an ordinance authorizing noncitizens to vote in those elections. Soto-Martinez has tried to soften the pitch by describing the first step as merely a charter question that would let the council “explore the issue later.” But the motion’s own language makes the end point clear: noncitizens voting alongside citizens in local elections.