During a debate hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo, moderator Enrique Chiabra pressed candidates for a yes-or-no answer. Democrat Mayor Karen Bass<\/a> declined to do so, while Republican challenger Spencer Pratt responded flatly, “No.”<\/p>\n Bass instead said, “It depends,” adding, “It’s not a yes or no.”<\/p>\n The exchange comes as a Los Angeles city councilmember has renewed debate on the issue and is pushing to put the question before voters on the November ballot.<\/p>\n FORMER REALITY TV PERSONALITY SPENCER PRATT LASHES OUT AT LA MAYOR KAREN BASS OVER ‘INSANE, PSYCHO’ COMMENTS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Former reality television star Spencer Pratt is running against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to lead the second-largest city in the country. (Roy Rochlin\/Getty Images | Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os \/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)<\/p>\n While federal law bars noncitizens from voting<\/a> in federal elections, some U.S. cities \u2014 including a few in California \u2014 allow limited forms of noncitizen voting in local races.<\/p>\n When explaining her answer, Bass said the term “noncitizens” can include legal residents.<\/p>\n “Well, first of all, when you say noncitizens, it doesn’t mean they’re here illegally. It doesn’t mean they’re undocumented. They can have green cards<\/a>. They could be here perfectly legal,” Bass said. “And there’s a lot of states and cities that do that on very, very local elections. We have to see what the councilman is proposing.”<\/p>\n SPENCER PRATT’S LA MAYORAL CAMPAIGN VIDEO DRAWS JOHN WICK COMPARISONS AS FANS RALLY BEHIND HIM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said “it depends” when asked whether noncitizens should be allowed to vote in local elections. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n Councilwoman Nithya Raman<\/a>, also a Democratic candidate, similarly avoided a direct answer.<\/p>\n “I would say again, it does depend,” Raman said, noting that in some places, noncitizen residents can vote in certain local elections, such as school board races.<\/p>\n Pratt, who was first to respond, reiterated his position with a one-word answer: “No.”<\/p>\n Bass and Pratt are among 13 candidates running for mayor<\/a>, with Pratt viewed as one of the leading challengers to the incumbent.<\/p>\n![\"karen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5c00c369-spencer-pratt-karen-bass.png\")
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