Insights and Analyses

• In 2022, about 1.2 million Latino immigrants, 290,000 Filipino immigrants, 262,000 Chinese immigrants, 186,000 Vietnamese immigrants, 165,000 Indian immigrants, and 98,000 Korean immigrants were registered to vote in California.

• Black, Filipino, Indian, Latino, Other Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander, Portuguese, and Vietnamese immigrants had higher voter turnout rates in the 2020 election compared to their U.S.-born counterparts.

• Among most racial groups, women had slightly higher voter turnout rates than males in the 2020 election. For example, among registered Arab voters, Arab females had a 77% voter turnout rate, compared to 73% turnout amongst Arab males.

• Italian voters, regardless of nativity, and U.S.-born Japanese voters were among the groups with the highest voter turnout rate in 2020. These two groups have larger percentages of native-born individuals than other immigrant populations. Moreover, Italians’ immigrant population is substantially smaller and many Japanese Americans are long settled in the state.

• In FY 2023, 878,500 immigrants became naturalized citizens across the country, with California seeing the highest number, at 154,900 new naturalized citizens; followed by Texas, at 99,900 new naturalized citizens – and potentially new voters in time for the 2024 election.

• In 2020, due to the pandemic, there was a halt in interviews and oath ceremonies for immigrants waiting to naturalize which impacted their right to vote in the 2020 election. Boundless estimated that nearly 300,000 immigrants were likely unable to naturalize in time to gain voting eligibility for the 2020 election due to the closures of naturalization services. Eventually, there were improvements in reducing processing times and barriers as USCIS reduced the naturalization backlog to about 5 months in 2024 from nine to twelve months during 2020-2022.

• Providing in-language election materials and expanding access to information can help many LEP voters overcome a variety of barriers to cast their ballots. Across the U.S., California has the highest share of households speaking languages other than English at home; however, advocates have continued to push for state and local governments to expand the translation of ballots and voter information to more languages, such as Somali and possibly other Middle Eastern and North African languages, as many are left lacking guaranteed voter assistance. A recent bill, AB 884, seeks to expand access to more voters who do not speak English fluently, through avenues like providing in-language ballots and voting materials in additional languages that are not covered by current law.

Since 2011, Dream Summer has connected immigrant youth and allies to nearly 900 fellowship opportunities with 265 organizations across the country, training the next generation of social justice leaders to defend immigrant and underrepresented communities.

Founded by the UCLA Dream Resource Center (DRC), a project of the UCLA Labor Center, the Dream Summer program places fellows with social justice organizations each year to empower immigrant youth and allies, create a safe and healing space, and promote an intersectional approach to issues affecting immigrant communities.. While focusing on immigrant rights issues, fellows also lead on the additional issues that intersect with immigrant experiences – including barriers to equity for LGBTQ+, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Black communities; the incarceration and criminalization of communities of color; labor rights; and health care access for all.

Through the Dream Summer fellowship, participants receive a $7,000 stipend, leadership and professional training, and membership into the DRC Alumni Network. In addition, Dream Summer alumni are now leading the fellowship as coordinators, bringing forth their experiences to strengthen the program. To learn more about the Dream Summer fellowship, visit their site here.

Photo credit: Dream Resource Center

The Immigrant Parent Voting Ordinance in San Francisco City is an exemplary model for allowing undocumented parents and guardians to engage civically by voting in local school board elections.

Proposition N, passed in 2016, sets San Francisco apart as the first city in the state that allows non-citizens to vote in local school board elections. In 2021, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the Immigrant Parent Voting Ordinance to make this right permanent, and also expanded it to allow non-citizens to also vote in school board recall elections. Despite a conservative challenge that temporarily struck down the ordinance in 2022, the ordinance was reinstated on appeal in 2023. Although non-citizen voting (NCV) is not a new concept, few cities across the nation have implemented NCV to the extent that San Francisco has by allowing all residents with children under the age of 19 – regardless of legal status – to participate.  Speaking to the importance of the incorporation of immigrant voices in the community and protection of voting rights, Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA)’s immigrant rights coordinator, Olivia Zheng, stated: “By extending the right to vote to noncitizens, San Francisco has led the way in expanding access to democracy and promoting immigrant inclusion. In the face of attacks on voting rights across the country, it is crucial to continue defending the right for immigrants to fully participate in and shape their communities.”

In California, this concept is gaining traction in other municipalities. In Oakland, voters approved a measure in 2022 to allow noncitizen parents and guardians of public school students to vote for school board directors – but are still waiting for implementation by the City Council. San Jose also briefly considered a proposal in 2022 to extend voting rights in all local elections to all residents.

Led by CAA, the multi-racial Immigrant Parent Voting Collaborative (IPVC) coalition has  provided trainings, workshops, and brochures to non-citizen voters on their rights and possible risks associated with voting. Leading up to the 2018 elections, IPVC worked with the San Francisco Department of Elections to safeguard the privacy of undocumented voters by including a notice on the ballot around voting risks, creating separate ballots and rosters tailored to non-citizen voters, and training poll workers. In 2023, IPVC released a report detailing how the advocacy for non-citizen voting prevailed in San Francisco – and how conservative opposition still poses a threat to this right in the Bay Area and beyond.  To learn more about the organizations involved in expanding civic participation in SF, read here. To learn more about the history of non-citizen voting, read here.

Photo credit: Chinese for Affirmative Action