Former congressman working to make sure noncitizens can never vote in California

Former congressman Doug Ose believes only United States citizens should be allowed to vote, and he's working to get a proposal on the 2020 ballot that would prevent any noncitizen from voting, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Ose represented California's 3rd District in the U.S. House from 1999 to 2005, and now he's seeking to make a two-sentence adjustment to California's election code.

"It's very simple," Ose told the LA Times. "I don't think noncitizens should be voting."

Why is this an issue?

San Francisco approved a measure to allow any parent or legal guardian of voting age to vote in school board elections, regardless of citizenship status, back in 2016.

That measure was passed to give the city's significant immigrant population more influence in the schools.

Former Rep. Newt Gingrich, in a Fox News opinion column, has criticized the measure, saying "the long-range plans Democrats have for a ruling majority depend on continuous law-breaking to get enough non-Americans to vote. The Californians who don't support the radical views of Democrats can simply be eclipsed by noncitizen voters supporting the Democrats."

How would this law work?

Ose's proposal doesn't say how citizenship status would be verified at the polls; right now, California doesn't require personal identification for people to register or vote.

How could this get on the ballot?

Ose has to get 365,880 signatures on his proposal to get on the California ballot in 2020.

"There's no shortage of people who are interested in being involved," Ose said, according to the LA Times.

More about Ose

Ose, who served the Sacramento area while in Congress, was a relatively early Donald Trump supporter during the 2016 campaign, throwing his support behind the then-candidate after Jeb Bush dropped out.

Ose ran for governor briefly earlier this year, but withdrew from the race after less than two months, citing financial reasons.