The Santa Ana City Council’s progressive majority received another black eye in its drive pass a ballot measure allowing non-citizens to vote in city elections today when the OC Superior Court ordered the city to strike prejudicial language from the ostensibly neutral language summarizing the ballot measure.
When the City Council voted 4-3 last November to place the measure on the ballot, council progressives pushed for this language:
“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?” [Emphasis added].
The addition of the reference to “taxpayers and parents” followed back-room lobbying by radical non-profits like VietRise.
Veteran conservative activist James Lacy sued, seeking to have the language removed on the obvious basis that it is unnecessary, prejudicial and intended to persuade voters to support it – which is contrary to state election law. Lacy was joined by the California Public Policy Foundation, the United States Justice Foundation and Santa Ana resident Pasquale Tallarico.
In a June 5 ruling, Superior Court Judge Kimberley Knill agreed with Lacy and ordered the city to remove the language.
At the city council’s June 18 meeting, the members of the progressive majority thumbed their noses at the court and refused to change the language.
Today’s ruling forces removal of the language
The ballot initiative would allow non-citizens – including illegal aliens with no legal right to be in the country – to vote in Santa Ana municipal elections.
It is estimated approximately 22% of Santa Ana’s official population of 308,200 residents are non-citizens. Enfranchising them would negate the votes of Santa Ana residents are are birth-right citizens or have undergone the legal naturalization process.
The Harbor Institute and VietRise, radical advocacy groups at the forefront of allowing non-citizen voting, have been organizing efforts to pressure the judge into ruling their way:
Carlos Perea, an illegal alien who runs the Harbor Institute and advocates for open border policies and against deporting anyone, is a member of the city’s Police Oversight Commission.
Councilmen Ben Vazquez and Johnathan Hernandez participating in the judge-pressuring exercise today, and can be seen in this VietRise Instagram reel:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9TYM66P0KN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
