San Jose could ask residents to pick mayor during presidential elections, let non-citizens vote in local races – By Maggie Angst (Bay Area News Group) / January 11, 2022
Some city leaders want to give undocumented immigrants and green card holders the right to vote in local races
By the end of this year, San Jose residents could decide whether to put future mayoral races on the same ballot as presidential elections and allow non-citizens to cast local votes.
The San Jose City Council voted 10-1 Tuesday night to place a measure on the June 7 ballot asking residents to shift the mayoral races from midterm election years to presidential election years beginning in 2024. The move, which has been years in the making, should help boost voter turnout and broaden representation in the city’s mayoral contests, according to advocates.
“This has been a long time coming,” Councilwoman Maya Esparza said. “Our current system was designed to suppress votes. It was designed to suppress certain kinds of votes and enable other votes.”
