Can non-citizens vote?

No, only U.S. citizens may vote in federal elections (including elections for President, Vice President, U.S. Senators, and U.S. Representatives), and only citizens of a state may vote in state elections (including elections for governor, state legislators, state attorney general, and state ballot measures). Federal law restricts non-citizen voting in federal elections under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-208, codified in part at 18 U.S.C. section 611), which makes it a federal crime for any non-citizen to vote in any election for federal office, with penalties of up to one year in prison and possible deportation.

Most states extend the same rule to state elections by their constitutions or statutes, requiring U.S. citizenship as a prerequisite to register and vote. A small number of cities and towns permit non-citizen voting in local elections, including school board elections in some California cities (San Francisco for parents of school-age children) and some Maryland municipalities (Takoma Park, Hyattsville, Mount Rainier, Riverdale Park, Chevy Chase Section 3 and 5, Garrett Park, Glen Echo, Somerset, Cheverly, College Park, Greenbelt, and a few others), and certain Vermont towns (Montpelier and Winooski as of 2025). The Supreme Court has not directly ruled on whether states may permit non-citizen voting in local elections; lower court decisions have varied. New York City briefly authorized non-citizen voting in 2022 but the law was struck down by state courts and is on appeal as of 2026.

Naturalized citizens may register to vote immediately after taking the Oath of Allegiance; many naturalization ceremonies include voter registration tables on site, and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-31, codified at 52 U.S.C. sections 20501 through 20511) allows citizens to register through state motor vehicle agencies, public assistance offices, and other government offices. Voting is one of the central rights gained through naturalization and is also a civic responsibility that many naturalization ceremony speakers emphasize as central to citizenship.

Penalties for non-citizen voting are severe; permanent residents who vote, even mistakenly, can be barred from naturalization for lacking good moral character and may face deportation.