San Francisco registers non-citizens to vote in Board of Education elections

The San Francisco Department of Elections this week began issuing voter registration forms to non-citizens with children in the city school district, according to multiple local media reports.

ABC7 News, SFGate and other outlets reported that the non-citizen parents or guardians of children in the San Francisco Unified School District are able to register to vote for Board of Education members as of Monday using specific forms.

The forms were crated as a result of a 2016 vote in which city residents passed a proposition to allow non-citizen voting. SFGate reported that the city’s Board of Supervisors adopted the law earlier this year.

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Non-citizens must be a resident of the city, be at least 18 years old and have a child under the age of 19, SFGate reported. 

The ordinance that permits non-citizens to vote on education officials will expire in November 2022, the local news outlet added. At that point, city supervisors will have to vote on whether to continue the practice.

While advocates largely hailed the move this week, some have reportedly expressed concerns that the voter registration information may be shared with the federal government, which would in-turn put non-citizens at risk amid a crackdown on illegal immigration.

The practice may catch on elsewhere. The Boston City Council’s Committee on Government Operations held a hearing earlier this month to discuss allowing immigrant residents with legal status in the United States to participate in local elections.