The Los Angeles City Council advanced a proposal Wednesday to give voters a say in November over whether city leaders may authorize noncitizens to vote in municipal and school board elections, drawing backlash from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, GOP senators and conservative commentators."They have imported voters to win," Musk said on X.Sen.Mike Lee, R-Utah, also criticized the proposal, tying it to Los Angeles officials’ opposition to federal immigration enforcement."The LA City Council wants to give local voting rights to illegals for the explicit purpose of empowering them against ICE and immigration enforcement," Lee said.ELECTIONS WATCHDOG URGES SENATE GOP TO CLOSE NONCITIZEN VOTING LOOPHOLELos Angeles City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez introduced a proposal that could allow future city leaders to authorize noncitizens to vote in municipal and school board elections.
(Getty Images)The proposal was introduced by Los Angeles City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez, and seconded by Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, both Democratic socialists.The council approved the noncitizen voting provision on a 10-5 vote as part of a broader charter reform package headed toward the November ballot.The city clerk's file says the measure would ask the city attorney to prepare documents for a November 2026 charter amendment giving the council authority to later introduce an ordinance authorizing noncitizen voting.During the council debate, Soto-Martínez said a noncitizen parent who has lived in Los Angeles for years could have less electoral influence than a citizen who recently arrived for work."It just does not make sense to me that someone who moves to Los Angeles for a temporary job has more of a voice than a parent who has been here for decades raising their children through public schools," Soto-Martínez said.KAREN BASS REFUSES TO GIVE 'YES OR NO' ANSWER ON WHETHER NONCITIZENS SHOULD VOTE IN LA: 'IT DEPENDS'A voter drops off a ballot in Los Angeles, where the City Council ad...