Is it time to let noncitizens vote in local elections?

A timely column by Nicholas Goldberg in today’s Los Angeles Times asks whether noncitizens should be allowed to vote in local elections. In it he discusses how the Los Angeles Unified School Board has authorized a study on the feasibility of extending voting privileges to noncitizen parents, guardians, and other stakeholders. Given that an estimated 42% of children in Southern California have at least one noncitizen parent, such a policy would dramatically expand participation in school governance. According to Goldberg, noncitizen voting has already been allowed “in 11 towns in Maryland as well as San Francisco, two cities in Vermont and a few other jurisdictions[.]” 

Professor Amy Motomura has written an interesting law review article on a related topic: whether noncitizens should be allowed to participate in juries.

IE