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This article covers noncitizen voting in the United States. It includes background information about the issue, language from federal law and state constitutions, details about the municipalities that allow noncitizen voting, and a list of states where it is prohibited.
According to the Pew Research Center, there were over 25 million people living in the U.S. in 2020 who were not U.S. citizens. This included approximately 12 million permanent residents living in the U.S. with legal permission, as well as 2 million temporary residents visiting the U.S. for a period of time as students, tourists, foreign workers, foreign officials, etc. Pew's figure also includes approximately 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.[1][2]
In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed a law prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections, including elections for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections. This law does not apply to elections for state and local offices. Click here to learn more about recent legal challenges involving noncitizen voting[3]
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According to political scientist Ron Hayduk of San Francisco State University, certain noncitizens were permitted to vote in federal, state, and local elections in 33 states between 1776 and 1924. He argued that granting the right to vote to noncitizens was a common incentive among U.S. territories and new states to attract workers and families to work and populate the lands.[4][5]
Hayduk also argued that immigration can lead to anti-immigrant sentiment and restricted voting rights:
| “ | Contrary to the dominant narrative about a consistent expansion of democracy and political participation in the United States, the history of immigrant suffrage provides a more accurate lens to expose a recurring pattern that runs throughout the history of American voting rights: one step forward and two steps back. An influx of newer immigrants at a point in time sparks a wave of nationalism and nativism—often associated with war or political conflict—and a rollback of voting rights.[4][6] | ” |
States began changing their constitutions to prevent noncitizen voting in the early Twentieth Century. Alabama (1901), Colorado (1902), Wisconsin (1908), Oregon (1914), Kansas (1918), Nebraska (1918), South Dakota (1918), Indiana (1921), Texas (1921), Mississippi (1924), Missouri (1924), and Arkansas (1926) all banned noncitizen voting within three decades. By 1931, noncitizen voting had become so rare that political scientist Leon Aylsworth noted, "For the first time in over a hundred years, a national election was held in 1928 in which no alien in any state had the right to cast a vote for a candidate for any office – national, state, or local."[4]
Decades later in 1996, the U.S. Congress passed a federal immigration enforcement bill called the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA). Section 611 of IIRAIRA criminalized noncitizen voting in federal elections, but the law did not explicitly prohibit noncitizens from voting in state or local elections in accordance with state constitutions and local ordinances.[5]
When the IIRIRA took effect on April 1, 1997, Former President Bill Clinton said that the legislation strengthened "the rule of law by cracking down on illegal immigration at the border, in the workplace, and in the criminal justice system — without punishing those living in the United States legally."[5] However, critics of the IIRIRA said that it "eliminate[ed] due process from the overwhelming majority of removal cases and curtailing equitable relief from removal."[5]
According to Policy and Advocacy Manager Arturo Castellanos Canales of the National Immigration Forum, the City of Takoma Park, Maryland, became the first municipality in the country to restore noncitizen voting in local elections in 1992. "From a legal standpoint, Takoma Park argued that Maryland’s constitution expressly delegates municipalities the power to determine suffrage qualifications for municipal elections in their city charters. In addition, from a practical perspective, Takoma Park argued that citizenship was an irrelevant suffrage qualification when voting for local officials because they deal with local responsibilities, such as parks and recreation, arts programs, public transportation, garbage collection, water, and sewage."[5]
Voters in San Francisco passed a charter amendment called Proposition N in 2016, giving noncitizens the right to vote in the city's school board elections. An official statement of support for the measure said, "All parents, regardless of citizenship, will have the opportunity to become an integral part of their child’s education through the voting process. It is estimated that at least 1 out of 3 children in SF public schools has an immigrant parent. Tens of thousands of SF residents would become eligible to vote in School Board elections."[7]
An official statement opposing Proposition N said, "Like a bad penny, this illegal proposal in violation of the California Elections Code has already been twice defeated by increasing majorities of San Francisco electors – but keeps coming back!!!: It was defeated in 2004 and 2010 ... Needless to say, American citizens living abroad are not allowed to take part in foreign nations’ board of education or other elections."[7]
After Tacoma Park and San Francisco, other municipalities allowed noncitizens to vote in their local elections: New York (2021), Montpelier (2021), Winooski (2021), Oakland (2022), Washington, D.C. (2022), Burlington (2023). Opponents of these policies filed lawsuits at both the state and federal levels to stop noncitizens from voting, arguing that their participation diminished the voting power of legal citizens. This litigation had mixed results. New York's noncitizen voting law was overturned in 2022. San Francisco's law was upheld on appeal in 2023.
In 2018, North Dakota became the first of several states to ban noncitizen voting by changing their constitutions. North Dakotans for Citizen Voting, the group that sponsored Measure 2, supported the ballot measure in posts on its website:[8]
| “ | Currently the constitution doesn't state that only U.S. citizens can vote - it says that U.S. citizens are eligible to vote. This measure clarifies it. There have been a few cases around the state where county auditors sought clarification ... Voting is the fundamental and exclusive right of U.S. citizens. We welcome many people who choose to live temporarily or even permanently in North Dakota, or elsewhere in the United States. But if they want to vote in our elections, they should make the decision to become a U.S. citizen and go through that process. This initiative doesn’t deal with immigration or the problem of voter fraud. Our goal is simple and straightforward: make voting the exclusive right of U.S. citizens. People who support voting as the basic, fundamental right of U.S. citizens will support this ballot measure, and those who want non-citizens to vote will oppose it.[9][6] | ” |
Opponents of Measure 2, including Steven Morrison, a law professor at the University of North Dakota, stated that the measure was unnecessary, “Practically speaking, I don’t see how this would change anything. The question is do you have non-residents, non-citizens voting now?”[10]
After North Dakota, other states passed bans on noncitizen voting, including Alabama (2020), Colorado (2022), Arizona (2022), Florida (2022), Louisiana (2023), and Ohio (2023). Voters in four additional states are deciding similar ballot measure bans in 2024: Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, and South Carolina.
The map below indicates which U.S. states allow or prohibit noncitizen voting in elections for state or local offices. It also indicates which states have approved ballot measures related to noncitizen voting and which states will have ballot measures related to noncitizen voting in the 2024 election. States with no impediments to voting in local elections are also indicated on this map.
As of June 2024, the District of Columbia and municipalities in California, Maryland, and Vermont allowed noncitizens to vote in some or all local elections. Details about each municipality are listed below. Know of a municipality we're missing? Email us.
The District of Columbia Council passed the D.C. Noncitizen Vote Act in October 2022, allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections. Due to the District's non-state status, all of its legislation must be reviewed by Congress prior to adoption. The D.C. Noncitizen Vote Act overcame bipartisan opposition in the U.S. House of Representatives and passed its congressional review in March 2023.[13]
Advocates of the law argued that noncitizens have an interest in schools, public safety and other issues, and should therefore be allowed to weigh in on public policy decisions. Opponents argued that noncitizens do not have a fundamental right to vote or hold public office in the U.S. and that the legislation dilutes the voting power of U.S. citizens.[14]
In March 2023, a group of seven D.C. voters filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court seeking an injunction to prevent the law from being enforced. The case was moved to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.[13][14]
On March 20, 2024 the court dismissed the challenge. In its opinion, the court held that the plaintiffs "votes will not receive less weight or be treated differently than noncitizens’ votes; they are not losing representation in any legislative body; nor have citizens as a group been discriminatorily gerrymandered, ‘packed,’ or ‘cracked’ to divide, concentrate, or devalue their votes."[15]
Maryland's state constitution specifies that "every citizen of the United States, of the age of 18 years or upwards, who is a resident of the State as of the time for the closing of registration next preceding the election, shall be entitled to vote in the ward or election district in which the citizen resides at all elections to be held in this State."[16] The state constitution gives municipalities the authority to allow people outside those qualifications to vote without requiring state approval of such changes.[17]
The following Maryland municipalities allow noncitizens to vote in local elections as of June 2024:
The following Vermont municipalities allow noncitizens to vote in local elections as of June 2024:
As of June 2024, the following seven states included language explicitly prohibiting noncitizen voting in their state constitutions.[33]
Joshua A. Douglas, associate professor of law at the University of Kentucky College of Law, published an article in 2017 stating, "Municipalities can expand voting rights in local elections if there are no explicit state constitutional or legislative impediments and so long as local jurisdictions have the power of home rule." Some states, for example, require that changes to local charters get approval from state legislatures, thereby limiting municipal authority over voter eligibility laws, whereas other states do not.[34]
Douglas identified 14 states—including California and Maryland—as posing no clear impediments to municipalities passing their own voter qualification laws. Since publication of the 2017 article, two states which Douglas identified as having no clear impediments to noncitizen voting have passed constitutional amendments clarifying that only U.S. citizens may vote in elections in those states. The remaining 12 states identified by Douglas are:
Federal law states that it is unlawful for a noncitizen to vote in federal elections and establishes the punishment of a fine, one year in prison, or both for violation of the law. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 states the following:
| “ |
(a) It shall be unlawful for any alien to vote in any election held solely or in part for the purpose of electing a candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate from the District of Columbia, or Resident Commissioner, unless—
(b) Any person who violates this section shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than one year, or both.[6] |
” |
The law includes the following exceptions:
| “ |
(c) Subsection (a) does not apply to an alien if—
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” |
Federal law also states that noncitizens who violate the law are inadmissible (ineligible to receive visas and ineligible to be admitted to the U.S.) and deportable.[36][37]
All state constitutions mention United States citizenship when discussing who can vote in that state's elections. In 43 states, constitutional language discussing citizenship says who can vote (e.g. "every citizen" or "all citizens"), but does not state that noncitizens cannot vote. In seven states (Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Ohio), their constitutions allow citizens, but not noncitizens, the right to vote.
The following table lists what each state's constitution says regarding citizenship and the right to vote. Click the arrow to browse pages in the chart or search for a state within the chart.
Since 2018, voters have decided on six ballot measures related to adding language about citizenship requirements for voting. Voters approved all six measures with at least 62.9% of the vote. In 2024, eight states are voting on ballot measures addressing citizenship requirements for voting.
The following table shows the percentage of Democratic and Republican legislators that supported referring constitutional amendments to the state's ballot requiring citizenship to vote. The average percent of Republican support was 100% while the average percent of Democratic support was 45.6%.
In Alabama and Iowa, legislators passed the referrals with unanimous support from both parties.
According to the city of San Francisco's website, non-citizen parents of children residing in San Francisco are permitted to vote in San Francisco Board of Education elections. Noncitizens are not permitted to vote in other local, state, or federal elections.
In 2016, voters in San Francisco passed a charter amendment called Proposition N with 54% support. The amendment read, "Shall the City allow a non-citizen resident of San Francisco who is of legal voting age and the parent, legal guardian or legally recognized caregiver of a child living in the San Francisco Unified School District to vote for members of the Board of Education?" The law took effect in 2018. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard B. Ulmer, Jr. struck down Proposition N in July 2022, stating that the law violated the state Constitution. Ulmer ruled that "the [California] Constitution ... reserves the right to vote to a United States citizen, contrary to (the) San Francisco ordinance."[38] To read the full ruling, click here.
A California Court of Appeal overturned Ulmer's ruling a few months later, arguing that Prop N was in fact permissible under the state constitution and the City Charter. According to the city of San Francisco's website, "On August 8, 2023, a California Court of Appeal upheld San Francisco’s non-citizen voting program. The decision permits non-citizen parents of children residing in San Francisco to continue to vote in San Francisco Board of Education Elections."[39]
On December 9, 2021, the New York City Council approved Int. 1867-2020, which extended the right to vote in municipal elections to lawful permanent residents and other non-citizens authorized to work in the United States. The council voted 33-14 in favor of the legislation, making New York City the largest city in the nation at the time to authorize voting by non-citizens.[40]
Mayor Eric Adams (D) allowed the legislation to become law without his signature on January 9, 2022, saying, “I believe that New Yorkers should have a say in their government, which is why I have and will continue to support this important legislation. ... I look forward to bringing millions more into the democratic process."[41][42]
A group of Republican voters and officials representing the New York Republican State Committee and Republican National Committee, as well as a Democratic city council member, filed a lawsuit on January 10, 2023, challenging the new law. The plaintiffs alleged that allowing over 800,000 eligible noncitizens to vote in municipal elections when New York City has approximately five million registered voters would dilute the power of the votes of legitimate U.S. citizens.[43]
On June 27, 2022, the New York State Supreme Court for Staten Island overturned the law, ruling that it violated the state's constitution. According to Judge Ralph Porzio, “by not expressly including non-citizens in the New York State Constitution, it was the intent of the framers for non-citizens to be omitted.” The judge quoted Article 2.1 and Article 2.5 of the state's constitution in his judgment:[44][45]
On February 21, 2024, the Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department in New York upheld the lower court's decision upon appeal.[46] In the ruling, associate justice Paul Wooten said, “We determine that this local law was enacted in violation of the New York State Constitution and Municipal Home Rule Law, and thus, must be declared null and void.”[47]
The Supreme Court of the State of New York includes 62 separate courts—one for each county. These courts are the highest trial courts in the state but they are not New York's courts of last resort. The Court of Appeals is the highest court and court of last resort in New York.
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