Can noncitizens vote?

18 U.S.C. 611 makes it unlawful for any alien to vote in an election held solely or in part to elect a President, Vice President, presidential elector, Senator, Representative, Delegate from the District of Columbia or Resident Commissioner. The penalty is a fine, imprisonment of not more than one year, or both.

A separate statute, 18 U.S.C. 1015(f), makes it a crime punishable by up to five years to knowingly make a false claim of U.S. citizenship in order to register or to vote in any federal, state or local election. And 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(6) makes an alien who has voted unlawfully deportable.

Yes, everywhere in the United States. 18 U.S.C. 611 makes it unlawful for any alien to vote in any election held solely or in part for the purpose of electing a candidate for President, Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate from the District of Columbia or Resident Commissioner. That prohibition is federal and applies in every state, city and territory, no matter what a local ordinance says.

The federal ban applies regardless of local law. The District of Columbia has the broadest noncitizen voting law in the country, and its own Board of Elections states that non-citizens cannot vote for federal offices. Where local noncitizen voting exists, election officials issue a separate local-only ballot, which is why local permissions cannot be evidence about who voted in a presidential race.

It depends which statute is charged. Voting in a federal election as an alien under 18 U.S.C. 611 carries a fine, imprisonment of not more than one year, or both, which is a misdemeanor level maximum. Knowingly making a false claim of U.S. citizenship in order to register or vote under 18 U.S.C. 1015(f) carries up to five years, which is a felony. That gap is why the false citizenship claim is often the charge you see.

State law can add its own offenses. Deportability under 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(6) applies on top of any criminal penalty.

The narrow exception in each statute covers people raised in the United States by citizen parents who reasonably believed they were citizens.