Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said during a Politico California Playbook discussion that the city should “explore” allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections, responding to a question about Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez’s interest in changing city voting rules, as reported by the Gateway Pundit.

Bass was asked about Soto-Martínez, who has endorsed her, and his push to look at ways to allow non-citizens to vote in Los Angeles city elections. The proposal would involve city elections, including city council and school board races.

California Bureau Chief Melanie Mason asked Bass about the issue during the discussion, raising the timing of such a proposal with President Donald Trump in the White House.

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Mason asked, “Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, who has endorsed you, wants to explore ways to let non-citizens vote in city elections. I know that some cities already do this, but, you know, politics is all about timing.

With Donald Trump in the White House, is this the right time for Los Angeles to go down this path?”

Bass responded, “Well, I think we need to explore it. Now, I’ve not seen exactly what he’s calling for. I have a little familiarity with what happens in other cities. For example, some cities will allow people to vote in city council and school board elections because they pay local taxes. But they are not necessarily undocumented. They might be here completely legally, but have not finished the citizenship process. So, we’ll wait and see.”

The answer came as Los Angeles continues to face debate over immigration policy, sanctuary city rules, and local voting access.

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Bass did not reject the idea during the exchange and instead pointed to examples from other cities where certain non-citizens may be allowed to vote in local races.

Bass also connected the discussion to Los Angeles’ sanctuary city policy, saying some people raised concerns about that issue as well.

“But, you know, I mean, some questioned that around sanctuary cities, too. But we made that into law even though Trump had been elected. And it was because our population of vulnerable immigrants were terrified. That provided a measure of security for a minute. And no one anticipated we’d have the military roll up on us,” Bass said.

The remarks followed Soto-Martínez’s interest in exploring non-citizen voting in Los Angeles elections. The issue would require changes to the city charter if it moved forward.

The discussion highlighted another immigration-related policy debate in Los Angeles, where Bass defended sanctuary city action that she said was made into law after Trump had been elected.

The exchange was posted after the Politico California Playbook discussion and drew attention because Bass openly said the city should look at the proposal rather than dismiss it.

Soto-Martínez’s idea, as presented in the question, would focus on allowing non-citizens to participate in city elections.

Bass said she had not reviewed exactly what Soto-Martínez was calling for, but said Los Angeles should examine the issue and compare it with what other cities have done.

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