Minami Tamaki LLP Partner Olivia S. Lee co-authored an article on noncitizen voting in non-federal elections in the latest issue of the AILA Law Journal, a publication of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. The journal is committed to helping develop and publish accurate, concise, and insightful articles about immigration law and policy from a diverse and authoritative line-up of experts.

In “Can I Vote? Ramifications of False Claims to Citizenship and Emerging Initiatives for Noncitizen Voting,” Olivia Serene Lee, Karl Krooth, Annette Wong, Shannon V. Reed, and Ron Hayduk address the growing movement for noncitizen voting rights in local elections. 

Claiming citizenship when one is in fact not a citizen, or voting in a federal election, are well-established obstacles to citizenship and are also deportable offenses. However, some states and local governments have moved to enable noncitizens to exercise their freedom of choice through voting in various types of non-federal elections. These efforts aim to recognize immigrants as community members with a stake in local decisions.

The authors provide guidance on how lawyers should be advising clients who are considering lawfully voting in elections that permit the participation of noncitizens. The article also provides a fascinating current landscape of noncitizen voting in the United States.

Olivia is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the national association of more than 17,000 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law.

She currently serves as an Elected Director on AILA's Board of Governors as well as a member of the Editorial Board for AILA's Law Journal. Since 2009, she has served on the Advisory Council of AILA Northern California, having served as Chair of AILA Northern California from June 2016 to June 2017. 

Olivia has served on several AILA National committees, including University, Annual Conference, Membership Engagement, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) committees. She chaired AILA National's DEI Committee from June 2020 to June 2021, and now serves on the American Bar Association's DEI Advisory Council as an AILA representative.

Olivia is regularly invited to speak on local and national AILA CLE panels on topics such as H-1Bs, O-1s, entrepreneur visa options, practice management, DEI initiatives, and business immigration litigation in federal court.

In recognition of her work, Olivia received an AILA Presidential Commendation in 2021 and 2024, AILA's Annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award in 2022, and the Unity Award from the Minority Bar Coalition in 2018.