Judge rules Santa Ana must eliminate prejudicial language from noncitizen voting rights measure

Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Knill ruled Thursday that a Santa Ana ballot measure asking voters to decide whether to allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections will need to be rewritten before ballots are printed in August.

Knill made clear that this case is not about whether noncitizens should be able to vote in municipal elections, a right she said has been established by case law in certain circumstances in city elections. Rather, the case is about whether specific language city officials used to draft the ballot measure is prejudicial and could sway the results of the election.

The ballot measure had been set to ask voters: “Shall the city of Santa Ana city charter be amended to allow, by the November 2028 general municipal election, noncitizen city residents, including those who are taxpayers and parents, to vote in all city of Santa Ana municipal elections?”

The phrase “including those who are taxpayers and parents” needs to be removed, Knill ordered.




https://www.ocregister.com/2024/07/11/judge-rules-santa-ana-must-eliminate-prejudicial-language-from-noncitizen-voting-rights-measure/