SANTA ANA, Calif. — Voters will decide whether Santa Ana — a city of about 310,000 in Orange County, which lies southeast of Los Angeles — could become the first in California to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections in a November ballot measure.

It is illegal for people who are not US citizens to vote for president or other federal offices, and there is no indication of widespread voter fraud, although Republicans have turned the specter of immigrants voting illegally in the US into a major flashpoint. They argue that the legislation is necessary to protect the sanctity of the vote.

But a growing number of communities across the United States are passing laws that allow non-U.S. residents to vote in local elections, such as city council and mayoral races. Supporters say it’s fair because they live in communities and pay taxes.

Other states with municipalities that allow noncitizen residents to vote include Maryland, Vermont and, recently, Washington, D.C. New York City granted local voting rights to noncitizens in 2022, but a state judge struck down the law months later and halted forever entering into force. The city is now in the process of appealing the decision.

“It was taxation without representation,” said Santa Ana City Councilman Benjamin Vazquez. “Nearly a third of the city has no say in how the government is run.”

Non-citizen Santa Ana residents contribute about $117 million in state and local taxes each year, according to an estimate by the Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice. Many are Mexican and Central American immigrants.

The measure would make 70,000 of them eligible to vote, Vazquez said. Orange County was once a bastion of conservatism, but changing demographics have fueled a shift to the left. Republicans still have a firm grip on local political power.

The specifics are to be determined if it passes, aides say, but the new voters could include permanent residents, visa holders, refugees and immigrants without legal status.

James Lacy, an attorney and president of the non-profit US Justice Foundation, filed a lawsuit challenging the language of the ballot measure, saying it was biased in favor of its passage. An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled in Lacy’s favor and ordered the wording changed.

Lacy also sued the San Francisco Unified School District for allowing noncitizen parents to vote in school board elections in 2016. Ultimately, an appeals court judge ruled that no violated the state constitution.

“Citizenship is to be valued, and the crown jewel of citizenship is the right to vote,” Lacy said. He said naturalized citizens must do certain things, such as swear allegiance to the United States, to earn the right to vote.

Julia Gomez, an attorney for the ACLU of Southern California, said voting rights have expanded and contracted over time depending on the political landscape.

Originally, only white men who owned property in the US could vote. In the centuries since, eligibility requirements have changed by state and nationally. And by 1926, as many as 40 U.S. states or territories allowed noncitizens to vote with varying residency requirements, Gomez said.

“Our values ​​change over time,” Gomez said. The push for Measure DD in Santa Ana is a “reflection that at least Santa Ana communities are prepared to make a value judgment that says, ‘Yes, we respect our neighbors and we think our neighbors should have the right to they vote because they have a stake in this democracy.'”

Both sides of the measure flooded Santa Ana neighborhoods with flyers.

Eduardo Entimio, 23, said “growing up in Santa Ana and just witnessing” firsthand the impact immigrants have on the city makes him support the measure.

“Just because they can’t vote (now), doesn’t mean they don’t have an opinion,” Entimio said.

Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua opposes the measure, citing the costs associated with implementing non-citizen voting and potential lawsuits for the city.

If passed, the measure would specifically amend the Santa Ana City Charter to require the city council to adopt an ordinance allowing “any person who has established domicile in the city,” according to an analysis by the city attorney. It would also mean that the Santa Ana city clerk would have to conduct local elections instead of going through the Orange County Register of Voters, since non-citizens are explicitly barred from voting in federal elections.

Republicans have made the non-citizen vote a key talking point in this election. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly made the unsupported claim that Democrats are encouraging undocumented immigrants to enter the country to vote. He blamed the loss of the popular vote in 2016 on the immigrant vote, even though the investigation by the Trump-appointed voting integrity commission found no widespread voter fraud. It was abolished without identifying a single case in which a non-citizen voted.

The US House passed a proof of citizenship requirement for voter registration in July that failed to pass the Senate. Only five Democrats voted for it.

Twelve states have rejected efforts to allow non-citizens to vote by passing laws or passing constitutional amendments restricting voting to US citizens, and eight more states will take the issue up to voters in November.

Miguel Quin, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who came to the U.S. at age 5, said as a longtime Santa Ana resident, he wants his voice heard.

“I’ve worked two jobs most of my life,” Quin said. “We all pay taxes. We all contribute to the city.”