The city of Santa Ana, California, is debating whether to allow illegal aliens to vote in municipal elections, even though similar initiatives in other liberal cities have been struck down by the courts as unconstitutional.
Santa Ana is a major inland city in Orange County, which has moved from being a Republican stronghold to being a Democrat-leaning area, thanks in part to immigration to Santa Ana and other cities in the area.
Local news station KTLA-5 reported:
The Santa Ana City Council is once again considering a measure that would allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections.
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Proponents argue that the city’s large noncitizen community, including those who are in the country illegally, should have a say in local affairs since they often pay taxes and contribute to the economy.
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Others, however, disagree with the idea, believing voting should only be open to citizens.
Last year, a local judge struck down San Francisco’s effort to allow non-citizens to vote in school board elections, saying that it violated the state constitution.
Also last year, a state judge in New York struck down a New York City ordinance that would have given municipal voting rights to a million non-citizens residing in the city.
Several states have recently made it explicitly clear that only U.S. citizens may be eligible to vote.
