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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Do noncitizens have explicit rights to vote in some US local elections?

By Esther Tsvayg
YES

While voting in national elections is limited to U.S. citizens, a few cities have extended the right to vote in some elections to noncitizens.

San Francisco voters in 2016 approved allowing noncitizens with school-age children, regardless of legal status, to vote in elections for the city's school board. Chicago has had similar legislation since 1988, but excludes parents not legally authorized to be in the U.S. Maryland has ten towns that permit noncitizen voting.

Two states, Arizona and North Dakota, explicitly ban noncitizens from voting in either state or local elections. No other state constitutions specifically grant noncitizens voting rights at either state or local level.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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