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bipartisanpolicy.org

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 explicitly prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections.

It is not legal in any state for a noncitizen to cast a ballot in an election for federal office. While federal law does not prohibit noncitizens from casting a ballot in state or local elections, no state currently allows noncitizens to vote in statewide elections.

Municipalities in three states—California, Maryland, and Vermont—and Washington, DC allow noncitizens to vote in certain local elections.1

San Francisco allows resident noncitizen parents and guardians to vote in school board elections.

Oakland passed a ballot measure in 2022 also giving noncitizen parents and legal guardians the ability to vote in school board elections. The measure is still pending implementation.

Several municipalities in Maryland and Vermont permit noncitizens to vote in municipal elections.

Washington, DC, began allowing noncitizen residents to vote in non-federal elections in 2022.

Election offices in communities that allow noncitizens to vote in local elections maintain processes to ensure that a registered noncitizen voter cannot vote for state or federal races. Maryland’s cities, for example, maintain separate ballots for municipal elections. This ensures that noncitizens cannot receive a ballot for state or federal contests.