Noncitizens Were Allowed to Vote in U.S. Until 1926, Professor Hayduk Explains

BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN -- From the founding of the country until 1926, 40 states at various points allowed noncitizens to vote in local, state and federal elections, said Ron Hayduk, a professor of Political Science at San Francisco State University, who has written about this issue. Noncitizens could not only vote, but also hold office.

But that right has been stripped at different points in American history. From the days of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 to the rise of nativism after World War I, anti-immigrant sentiment led to the rolling back of these voting rights by legislatures in most states, he said.