Professor Hayduk: Noncitizen Voting Is Not Widespread in U.S. Because It's 'a Very Contentious Issue'

ASSOCIATED PRESS -- One reason so many cities in Maryland have enacted noncitizen voting laws is that municipalities are allowed to enact legislation and implement it right away, unlike other states, said Ron Hayduk, an associate professor of political science at San Francisco State University who studies noncitizen voting laws.

In Massachusetts, the cities of Amherst, Cambridge, Newton and Brookline have advanced laws to allow noncitizen voting, but they cannot implement them because they need the approval of state lawmakers, who have not acted, Hayduk said.

“Noncitizen voting is a very contentious issue, and that’s in part why it’s not more widespread,” Hayduk said.

Photo by Andrew Mager