The Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted this week to remove a proposal for noncitizen voting from the 2026 ballot, a move that came just ten days after initially approving the measure to move toward consideration.
The council's initial vote on the proposal had set in motion a process requiring city staff to return with specific ballot language and a clearer explanation of what voters would be asked to approve. Upon the release of these details, the proposal faced significant opposition, leading to its withdrawal.
Questions that emerged after the details were made public included who would qualify to vote—such as green card holders, DACA recipients, temporary visa holders, or undocumented immigrants—how voter registration would function, how voter information would be protected, and whether the city would need to establish a separate, taxpayer-funded election system.
Councilwoman Traci Park, who had initially voted in favor of the measure, acknowledged that voters would not have a clear understanding of what they were being asked to approve because the council itself did not yet have definitive answers to these critical questions. Councilman John Lee raised concerns that similar programs in other cities, like San Francisco, have warned noncitizen voters that registration information could potentially become accessible to immigration authorities, potentially exposing individuals to unintended consequences.
Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez, the proposal's author, reportedly recognized the need for further outreach and coalition building before revisiting the idea. Supporters of the proposal had aimed to advance the concept before these specific details were scrutinized, a strategy critics described as "government by bait-and-switch."
While the measure has been removed from the 2026 ballot, supporters may attempt to revive the idea in the future if political conditions are perceived as more favorable. However, the recent unanimous retreat from the proposal suggests that the initial criticisms, which highlighted the lack of defined parameters, held significant weight.