By: Miriam Edelman
The U.S. House of Representatives continues to try to prevent non-U.S. citizens from voting in local D.C. elections. Last year, Congress failed to prevent D.C.’s bill permitting non-citizens voting (now L24-0242 – Effective from February 23, 2023) from becoming law. (This bill was discussed in DCNOW’s blog’s “Fears-Turned Reality: Congress and the District of Columbia in 2023 So Far.”)
In May 2024, Congress acted against non-citizen voting just before D.C.’s primary elections of June 4, 2024, the first D.C. elections in which non-citizens could vote. Some Representatives think that Congress tried to interfere with those elections.
Congress’ focus on non-citizen voting in D.C. is part of Republican attacks on non-citizen voting, which is rare and illegal in federal elections. Only about 30 non-citizens voted in the 2016 elections. According to New York Times reporter Luke Broadwater
Republicans are pushing legislation to crack down on voting by noncitizens, which happens rarely and is already illegal in federal elections, in a move that reinforces former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to delegitimize the 2024 results if he loses.
In April 2024, Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) spoke at a news conference in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, supporting a bill that would prevent non-citizens from voting in federal elections. At another news conference in Washington, D.C., Johnson said, “There is currently an unprecedented and a clear and present danger to the integrity of our election system — and that is the threat of noncitizens and illegal aliens voting in our elections.” He also said, “We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections, but it’s not been something that is easily provable. We don’t have that number.” Johnon cited no evidence because there is no evidence of non-citizen voting in federal elections.
Republicans’ current focus on non-citizen voting is reminiscent of fears of non-citizen voting during the Donald Trump period. After becoming President, Trump met with Congressional leaders at the White House and falsely claimed that the votes of three to five million undocumented immigrants for Hillary Clinton caused Clinton to win the popular vote in 2016. After Trump lost the 2020 election, Trump and his allies mainly avoided the topic of non-citizens voting, but they made complaints and advanced conspiracy theories.
Introduction of Two Bills
On May 1, 2024, Representative Williams Timmons (R-SC) introduced H.R. 8218 - Demanding Citizenship in DC Elections Act. The bill would limit voting in local D.C. elections to U.S. citizens who present proof of citizenship to the Board of Elections. The bill, which would repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24–242), has just five Republican co-sponsors. One of them is Representative August Pfluger (R-TX), who introduced the similar H.R.192 - To prohibit individuals who are not citizens of the United States from voting in elections in the District of Columbia and to repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 bill (H.R. 192 was discussed in DCNOW’s “D.C. Elections-Related Legislation Update” blog piece.). Another H.R. 8218 co-sponsor is D.C. critic Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL).
On the same day, Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced S. 4225 - Demanding Citizenship in DC Elections Act. This bill would “amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to require any individual who votes in a municipal election of the District of Columbia to be a United States citizen and to provide proof of citizenship.” S. 4225 would repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24–242). One of the bill’s two Republican co-sponsors is Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), a former President Trump ally who is running to replace Senator Mitch McConnell as Republican Senate leader.
U.S. House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) Letter
On May 6, 2024, U.S. House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) sent a letter to the D.C. Board of Elections (BOE), continuing his interference in D.C. elections. On June 10, 2023, he introduced H.R. 4563 – American Confidence in Elections Act (DCNOW’s “D.C. Elections-Related Legislation Update” blog piece discusses this bill.). H.R. 4563 would “not only prohibit non-citizens from voting, but also implement strong photo voter ID laws, require annual voter list maintenance, and stop the unsolicited mailing of ballots to unmaintained lists.”
On May 6th, Chairman Steil wrote expressing his concerns about the District of Columbia’s Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022. He complained about BOE’s encouraging non-citizen voting:
Not only is D.C. allowing non-citizens to vote, but the Board is actively encouraging it. In addition to Board staff hosting a virtual townhall focused on the ability of non-citizen D.C. residents to vote, the Committee has received notice regarding a postcard mailed by the Board to “Residential Customers” advocating for non-citizens to register to vote in D.C. elections.
BOE’s educating people about their new rights makes complete sense. It is akin to the public-education campaigns about the new Ranked Choice Voting system in New York City in 2021 [This campaign was mentioned in the “Bring Ranked Choice Voting to Washington, D.C. (Ranked Choice Voting Part Two)” blog piece of DCNOW.]. Steil wanted nine questions to be answered by May 15th.
In a press release about his letter, Steil said:
American elections are for American citizens only. Every American deserves to have confidence in their elections, and it does not instill confidence when we see our nation's capital encourage non-citizen voting in local elections. I’m working to hold the D.C. Board of Elections accountable and stop non-citizen voting.
U.S. House Administration Committee May 16, 2024, Hearing
On May 16, 2024, the U.S. House Administration Committee held a hearing entitled “American Confidence in Elections: Preventing Noncitizen Voting and Other Foreign Interference.” A video of that hearing is on https://www.youtube.com/live/VeAZknNm7Fw.
Steil’s opening statement as prepared for delivery contains the following parts about D.C.:
- “Washington D.C., New York, Maryland, California, and others have passed legislation to allow noncitizens to vote in elections. This causes a host of problems for a state to maintain clean voter registration lists – let me explain.”
- “Yet jurisdictions allowing noncitizen voting like Washington D.C., are only required to keep one voter list. Maintaining one clean list with U.S. citizens and noncitizen voters presents challenges.”
- “Let me be clear - Noncitizen voting reduces confidence in our elections. Washington, DC is setting a new standard that could soon be applied across the country. We must stop noncitizen voting. That’s why our Committee passed my bill, the American Confidence in Elections Act.”
- “Yet last month, DC mailed this postcard around the city encouraging noncitizens to vote in local elections. In response, I sent a letter to the DC Board of Elections about this postcard. The DC Board is actively hosting virtual town halls encouraging noncitizens to vote. To vote in local elections in our nation’s capital, you must reside in DC for only 30 days. That means any noncitizen who moves to DC by October 5th can vote in this year’s election. If any of the 7 million migrants move to DC by this October, they can vote in the upcoming election. They don’t even need to show their ID! This does not instill confidence in our elections. The Committee on House Administration has broad oversight of our nation’s federal elections—including here in our nation’s capital. We have passed a bill to require citizenship to vote in DC elections.”
Hearing witness Hans. A. von Spakovsky of the conservative Heritage Foundation testified, saying the following about non-citizens voting in D.C.:
The move by some local jurisdictions, such as the District of Columbia and New York City, to allow aliens to vote in local elections is fundamentally unfair to citizens, effectively disenfranchising them by diluting their votes, something we passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to prevent. Moreover, by allowing any adult who has resided in the nation’s capital for 30 days to vote, there is nothing to prevent illegal aliens or employees of foreign embassies from voting in local elections, including diplomats from foreign governments that are openly hostile to the United States, as well as U.S.-based foreign reporters and journalists employed by government-propaganda organs such as Pravda and The People’s Daily. Such a distortion of our democratic process is a recipe for foreign interference in our elections—and our governance—and should not be allowed.
As the League of Women Voters wrote in a statement about that hearing:
Make no mistake, false and misleading information about our election system is being presented by Congress in an attempt to undermine voter confidence ahead of November. This is just another attempt to spread misinformation about our democratic systems and to sow distrust in our elections.
D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson’s and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s Letter of May 22, 2024
On May 22, 2024, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sent a letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) opposing H.R. 192. They critiqued Congressional interference:
At its core, H.R. 192 is undemocratic. The District of Columbia should be allowed to govern itself without interference from Congress. District residents pay more federal taxes per capita than any state, serve in the military, and contribute to the national welfare just the same as people everywhere else. Yet, over the past two years, our residents have repeatedly suffered the indignity of having politicians elected elsewhere--politicians who aren't accountable to District residents attempt to usurp the authority of our elected officials.
Mendelson and Schwalb defended D.C.’s self-governance. They also thought that if passed, H.R. 192 “could sow chaos and confusion in the District's elections this year. In fact, early and mail-in voting is already underway for the District's primary election.” They closed by writing the following about D.C.’s Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 (Act):
Congress already attempted to overturn the Act, introducing no fewer than four resolutions to repudiate the will of District voters. Each time, the resolutions have failed. We urge Congress to once against rebuff this undemocratic attack on District residents, affirm our right to self-governance, and reject H.R. 192.
House Passes H.R. 192
On the day of the House Rules Committee’s consideration of H.R. 192 on May 21, 2024, before the full House considered that bill, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) condemned the bill. Her press release said that around 50 bills with D.C. sections have been introduced during this Congress. Norton said,
D.C. laws are matters for the duly elected D.C. Council and mayor, not unaccountable members of Congress who do not represent D.C. residents. The almost 700,000 D.C. residents are worthy and capable of governing their own local affairs. Despite these constant attacks on D.C. election laws, congressional Republicans have refused to do the one and only thing D.C. residents have asked them to do about elections in D.C.: to give D.C. residents voting representation in the House and Senate, as well as full control over their local affairs, by passing my D.C. statehood bill.
Representative Clay Higgins (R-LA) began the House’s discussion on the bill. He and others tried to divide D.C. elected officials by saying that Bowser did not sign the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act, which permitted non-citizen voting in D.C.’s local elections. Higgins also appeared to divide Congress by saying that 42 Democratic Representatives voted to prevent that bill form becoming law. Higgins acknowledged Congress’ previous failure to undercut D.C. by saying, “However, the bipartisan resolution of disapproval was not considered in the Democratic-controlled Senate, so D.C.'s noncitizen voting law went into effect.” Although Congress was unsuccessful last year, it still tries to overturn the will of D.C.’s residents/government. Higgins said,
The primary factor that differentiates American citizens from noncitizens is the right to vote. D.C. residents should be confident that their local government vote is not being diluted by noncitizen residents or illegal immigrants casting votes.
House Oversight and Accountability Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who wrote an article entitled “Legal Aliens, Local Citizens: The Historical Constitutional and Theoretical Meanings of Alien Suffrage” in 1993, voiced his opposition to H.R. 192. He pointed out that Congress again is discussing D.C., not the climate change emergency or gun violence. Raskin said that 512 of D.C.’s almost 500,000 registered voters are non-citizens and that those 512 people constitute just a little more than one-tenth of one percent of D.C.’s registered voters. Raskin discussed the 2024 primary elections that was happening then in the nation’s capital, saying “What we are talking about now is passing legislation to overturn a practice that is literally taking place as we speak within the District of Columbia.”
Raskin discussed the history of non-citizen voting and Republicans’ support of it in the past, highlighting Republican hypocrisy. He remarked that non-citizen voting has legally occurred in most of the U.S.’s states, including Higgins’ Louisiana, throughout American history. He said that this practice
started, as far as I could tell, with this basic premise, that when the country began, there was a race qualification, a gender qualification, and property, wealth, and religion qualifications in different places, but the basic logic of it was that if you are a white male property owner, it doesn't make any difference what your citizenship status is. That lasted really up until the Civil War.
According to Raskin, non-citizen voting for local government positions became contested before the Civil War, and southern states opposed the practice because they thought that new immigrants would try to stop slavery. He pointed out that northern states (really the Republican party and Abraham Lincoln) defended noncitizen voting. After the Civil War, non-citizens voted throughout the U.S. At that time, the Republican party supported declarant alien suffrage, which allowed permanent residents who were on the way to becoming U.S. citizens the right to vote. At the start of the 1900’s and before World War I, non-citizen voting seemed to have ended, but it exists today at the local level. Raskin pointed out that non-citizen voting is prohibited at the federal and state levels. Raskin justified non-citizen voting at the local level:
The basic logic of it there, as I understand it from just trying to read up on what the people in D.C. did, was that they saw that while noncitizens from Canada or Mexico, for example, shouldn't be able to vote in national elections because the interests of the United States and Canada and Mexico may diverge, at the local level, everybody presumably has the same basic interests in efficient garbage collection, excellent public schools, and so on.
Higgins responded to Raskin’s remark that just 500-something non-citizens registered to vote in D.C. He said, “it has been estimated that 50,000 noncitizens are eligible to vote. As the election cycles move forward, they will no doubt consider registering and casting their vote should we not turn this law.” There is no evidence that all those people would register to vote.
Bill sponsor Pfluger spoke about H.R. 192. He attacked D.C.’s crime and possibly tried to divide local D.C. officials although his bill is about non-citizen voting:
[I]n 2023, this was the deadliest year on record in Washington, D.C. Madam Speaker, 274 people were killed. Violent crime spiked by nearly 40 percent. There were proceedings that even the Mayor opposed that had to do with violent crime, carjackings, lowering the penalties and thresholds, and making it a little bit easier. It was a strategy of appeasement that even the Mayor opposed.
Perhaps to divide Democrats, Pfluger said Biden signed a bill that prevented D.C.’s crime bill from becoming law because “he said it was ridiculous to reduce accountability measures in the District of Columbia.” Then, Pfluger attacked the D.C. Council:
[T]he D.C. City Council has made a very shortsighted decision that I fear could be a harbinger around the country. That decision, I believe, lessens and cheapens citizenship. We see that in other areas, but the D.C. City Council has moved to allow noncitizens, including illegal aliens and foreign agents, to vote in local D.C. elections.
He repeated Higgins’ point that 50,000 non-citizens are eligible to vote in D.C. Related to Republicans wanting to impose many of their pet projects in D.C., Pfluger said, “As the capital of our democracy, Washington, D.C., ought to be leading the way, setting the example, not incentivizing the exact practices that our adversaries would relish.” He tried to stoke concern about non-citizen voting, remarking
Take a look at what happened in San Francisco, where they just swore in somebody who is not a citizen to be an election administrator. The election administrator will administrate elections in that part of California, not just for local and municipal elections but all the elections.
He opposed any amount of non-citizen voting, saying “Noncitizen voting, whether it is one vote or a million votes, dilutes the voting power of the citizen.”
Raskin again highlighted non-citizens voting in a state of a Republican critic. He said, “The gentleman's native Texas had noncitizen voting from 1869 to 1921. For a half-century, Texas had it. That policy is one that was completely up to them. It was never overruled by the federal government.”
Raskin discussed non-citizen voting. According to him, U.S. citizens residing in Europe can vote in local elections there.
Norton spoke on the House Floor, opposing H.R. 192:
This Congress, Republicans have introduced 22 bills to overturn the District of Columbia's election laws, yet Republicans have refused to make the one and only change to D.C. election laws that D.C. residents have requested, which is to be given voting representation in the House and Senate.
Norton proceeded to discuss D.C.’s lack of Congressional voting representation. She made her typical points about Congression having the authority (but not duty) to legislate on local D.C. issues and D.C. residents not voting for Members of Congress. According to Norton, “there is never justification for Congress legislating on local D.C. matters.” She spoke about H.R. 192. According to her, more than 12 cities permit non-citizens voting in local elections. She repeated Raskin’s point about many states, including bill sponsor Pfluger’s Texas, allowing non-citizen voting in history. According to Norton, 1996 was the first time Congress prohibited non-citizens from voting in federal elections. Norton thought that Republicans brought H.R. 192 to the Floor when they did to disrupt D.C.’s primary elections, which were occurring. Again, Norton mentioned the Revolutionary War and her D.C. statehood bill.
Higgins said Democrats have not addressed “the fact that even one noncitizen's vote will, in fact, dilute the votes of American citizens.” He replied to Norton, saying:
The gentlewoman mentioned Republicans' efforts to disrupt D.C. elections. Quite to the contrary, Madam Speaker. We seek to restore the integrity of D.C. elections. We stood in support of an American's right to have their vote fully counted, including, most certainly, in our Nation's Capital. When there are 50,000 potential noncitizen voters in the Nation's Capital poised to cast a vote, that is the disruption of the D.C. voting process for the American citizens of D.C., whom we do indeed care for, love, and hope to represent.
Representative Tom McClintock (R-CA) attacked non-citizens voting and Democrats. He thinks that this voting “makes a mockery of our democracy, and it robs Americans of our sovereign right to direct our own government and decide our own destiny.” He ended his comments, saying “This outrageous law is the strongest argument yet for Congress to take back America's capital city for America and to take back America from the radical left.”
Raskin again showed Republicans’ hypocrisy on non-citizens voting. He quoted Justice Scalia, who had said that noncitizen voting “has been open, widespread, and unchallenged since the early days of the Republic.” He again said that the Republican Party supported non-citizens voting.
Representative Delia Ramirez (D-IL) also opposed H.R. 192:
This is another condescending Republican attempt to do three really specific things: Meddle in local D.C. elections; disfranchise Black and Brown voters who are fully capable of governing themselves, by the way; and eroding the trust of Americans in our federal elections.
She echoed Norton, saying
In the 118th Congress alone, Republicans have introduced 17 bills to overturn D.C.'s election laws, but my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have refused to do the one thing that the residents of D.C. have asked for, and that is equal representation through statehood.
She also repeated more of Norton’s comments, remarking “In the Republican tradition of undermining elections, the majority is pushing this bill while the primary elections in D.C. are underway.”
Representative Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ) attacked undocumented immigrants and non-citizens voting:
The left knows they can flood this country with millions of people. If the left can promise those millions of people that the Democrats are the party that will feed them, will house them, will transport them, will educate them for free on the American taxpayer's back and that Republicans will take that away, then the Democrats can use the millions of illegal immigrants as political pawns to increase their power.
Van Drew supported H.R. 192. Like others, he tried to stoke fear about non-citizens voting, asking “If we allow illegal immigrants to vote in elections now, Madam Speaker, how long is it going to be before we are back on this floor attempting to stop a state from allowing illegal immigrants to vote in our federal elections?”
Higgins defended Congress’ attempts to overturn local D.C. law. He said, “Congress has a constitutional duty to oversee our nation's capital, and H.R. 192 represents the exact role Congress should take in regard to the matters of the District's governance.” He defended Congress’ failure last year to prevent non-citizens voting in D.C.
Responding to Van Drew, Raskin stated that non-citizens voting in federal elections is illegal. Again, he discussed non-citizens voting in a state of a Republican critic, this time Van Drews’ New Jersey, in the past.
Representative Haley Stevens (D-MI) spoke about D.C. residents’ lack of full Congressional voting representation. She echoed others, saying Congress could work on other issues, such as “paid leave, decreasing maternal mortality, fully funding special education, the climate crisis, a national gun violence epidemic, women's rights, real voting rights for
this country.” She and later Raskin talked about D.C. being the only capital to not be represented in its national legislature. Stevens connected this effort to Republicans trying to instill fear about upcoming national elections. She opposed H.R. 192.
In yet another Congressional proceeding about D.C., January 6, 2021, was mentioned. This time, Raskin mentioned it and then D.C. statehood.
After Higgins spoke briefly, U.S. Representative Garrett Graves (R-LA) discussed non-citizen voting. Like others, he pointed out that D.C.’s Mayor Bowser did not sign D.C.’s law that granted non-citizens the right to vote in D.C. He admitted to “meddling.”
Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA) opposed H.R. 192. He also exposed Republicans’ hypocrisy:
It is interesting that the majority keeps talking about fair elections, ensuring that elections are done the right way, when 147 of them wouldn't even vote to certify the last Presidential election that we had here in this country. A majority of the Republican Party won't even admit or certify the last election on who actually won the last Presidential election, yet you want to talk about an attack on local neighborhood councils here in Washington, D.C., and local elections. It is hypocrisy what we are seeing here today in this debate.
According to Garcia, “This is nothing more than the majority's attempt to attack D.C. over
and over again.” He made a previous point that if Republicans are so into D.C, they should run for D.C. local office. Like other Democrats, he also thought that Congress should work on other issues. He proceeded to talk about H.R. 16, the American Dream and Promise Act, about almost 2.3 million Dreamers in every state.
Pfluger spoke again. He responded to Raskin’ and others’ remarks about non-citizens voting in states, saying
It has been said by several colleagues on the other side of the aisle that multiple states allowed noncitizens to vote. In the case of Texas, that was literally over 100 years ago, and we figured out it was not a good idea.
He attacked D.C.’s crime and the D.C. Council. He thought that D.C. should be a model, remarking, “Washington, D.C., should be the standard. It should be the standard. It is a unique case. It is a unique case in our country because it is not a state.” He tried to divide D.C. officials, remarking “Congress has jurisdiction constitutionally authorized to us, and we are acting because the city council overstepped. They have done something that even the Mayor is not in favor of.”
Raskin made some of the same points that he already stated. According to him, these actions
seem to be part of an election year assault on the District of Columbia. It is a lot easier to kick D.C. around a little bit than to solve the gun crisis, which has gotten to the point where gun violence is now the leading cause of death in America for young people under the age of 18. It is a lot easier to kick D.C. around a little bit than to confront the climate crisis, which is bearing down on all of us across the country.
He said that D.C. residents want D.C. statehood. He said that Congress has authority to change D.C.’s boundaries as Congress redrew D.C.’s boundaries when Virginia took back its land in 1846.
Higgins attacked D.C., saying, “D.C.'s noncitizen voting law does, indeed, disenfranchise American citizens. It is a dangerous policy that undermines the ability of the citizens of D.C. to have a free and fair election.”
On May 23, 2024, the House passed H.R. 192. The vote was 262 (including 210 Republicans and 52 Democrats) Yea, 143 Nay (including zero Republicans and 143 Democrats), zero Present, and 25 (including seven Republicans and 18 Democrats) Not Voting. At least some of the 18 Democrats (who voted Yea) on anti-D.C. legislation on the House Floor earlier this year. The May 22nd vote is shown in the below graph:
This House vote yielded the most number of Yea votes overall and the fewest number of Nay votes of any anti-D.C. bill of this Congress. See the following graph:
More Democrats voted for H.R. 192 (52 Democratic Yea votes) than for H.J. Res 24 (42 Democratic Yea votes) although both are about the same topic (non-citizen voting in Washington D.C.). 37 Democrats voted for both of these Congressional pieces of legislation. Thus, Democrats flipped multiple ways (including voting Yea on one bill and Nay on another; including voting Yea on one bill and Not Voting on another bill) between these two votes; perhaps, some flips from Nay last year to Yea in 2024 could be due to 2024 being an election year. The Democrats who voted Yea for H.J. Res 24 (not HR 192) are Correa (D-CA), Garamendi (D-CA), Jackson (D-NC), Landsman (D-OH), and Leger Fernandez (D-NM). Correa (D-CA), Garamendi (D-CA), and Leger-Fernandez (D-NM) voted No on H.R. 192. Jackson (D-NC) and Landsman (D-OH) did not vote on H.R. 192. Meanwhile, the Democrats who voted Yea for H.R. 192 (not H.R. Res. 24) are Boyle (D-PA), Castor (D-FL), Gallego (D-AZ), Horsford (D-NV), Houlahan (D-PA), Jackson (D-IL), Kuster (D-NH), McBath (D-GA), Moulton (D-MA), Mrvan (D-IN), Peltola (D-AK), Soto (D-FL), Suozzi (D-NY), Titus (D-NV), and Veasey (D-TX). Boyle (D-PA), Gallego (D-AZ), Horsford (D-NV), Houlahan (D-PA), Jackson (D-IL), McBath (D-GA), Moulton (D-MA), Mrvan (D-IN), Peltola (D-AK), Titus (D-NV), and Veasey (D-TX) voted Nay on H.J. Res. 24. Castor (D-FL), Kuster (D-NH), and Soto (D-FL) did not vote on H.J. Res. 24. Suozzi (D-NY) was not a Member of Congress during the vote on that resolution. In February 2024, Suozzi won a special election to replace former Representative George Santos, who on December 1, 2023, became the sixth Representative and first Republican to be expelled from the House in American history.
The Moulton flip is surprising, as just the day before (May 21, 2024), his office issued a press release explaining why he voted against the DC Crimes Bill. (This vote was mentioned in DCNOW’s “U.S. House of Representatives Passes H.R. 7530, the DC CRIMES Act” blog piece.). His press release said
The Home Rule Act was enacted in 1973 to give D.C. the ability to have an elected mayor and city council. This allowed D.C.—which today has a population larger than Vermont or Wyoming—some measure of self-determination over their own laws. Every other state and city in the nation has this right, and I doubt any resident of any other city would enjoy the federal government swooping in to strip that right away just because some Members of Congress don’t like the laws they’ve enacted.
H.R. 192’s Sec.2 would repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24–242). Why is Moulton now okay with overturning a D.C.-government passed law?
Current Senate candidate Gallego also flipped, an action that local Arizona media (including azcentral.com) wrote an article about. In 2023, Gallego issued the following statement after he voted Nay on H.J. Res. 24:
I believe voting is a fundamental right reserved for the citizens of the United States, and I will oppose any effort to erode that right in Arizona and on the federal level. But Washington, D.C. is not Arizona, and I do not believe Congress should be in the business of telling the residents of Washington, D.C. how to hold their democratic elections. Today’s vote, if anything, is yet another example of why we need D.C. statehood, so those living in Washington no longer find themselves at the mercy of a vindictive Republican House majority.
In 2024, he explained his switch in a statement to The Washington Post:
I believe that only citizens have the Constitutional right to vote, which is why I voted for this legislation. This bill made important improvements on the previous attempt, which was a half-baked proposal with dangerous implications, including the inability for American citizens living in DC to access our judicial system
As this newspaper said:
It’s unclear what Gallego is referring to. Congress has the final say on all D.C. policy, no matter the mechanism used; last year’s disapproval resolution and Thursday’s legislation don’t afford D.C. residents different judicial review rights and both have the same outcome.
Not surprisingly, Republicans were pleased that the House passed H.R. 192. In a press release, bill sponsor Rep. Pfluger said
Free and fair elections are a prerequisite for a healthy republic. The radical DC Council decision to allow noncitizens—including illegal aliens and foreign agents—to vote in elections dilutes the voting power of the citizen voter. My legislation restores the sanctity of the voting process and ensures that only American citizens are voting in our Nation’s capital.
House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY) released a press release applauding this passage:
Voting is a pillar of American democracy and a constitutional right that undeniably needs to be protected and preserved for citizens of this country. Two years ago, the D.C. City Council recklessly allowed non-citizens to participate in elections in our nation’s capital. This move by the Council was irresponsible and subverts the voices of American citizens. Today, Congress took action and I applaud the passage of legislation that will now prohibit non-citizens from voting in District of Columbia elections. The Oversight Committee will continue to conduct meaningful oversight over the District and work to hold the D.C. Council accountable for pursuing policies antithetical to American values
In a press release, Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA), who is not one of the just 24 Republican co-sponsors of this bill, said
Becoming a citizen is a fundamental right to vote in any election in the United States of America. D.C. Democrats undermined the rights of American citizens living in the District by allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections. Today, House Republicans are securing a core value of our nation's electoral values.
Kelly’s press release also said, “The Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022, unconstitutionally allows non-citizen residents, including green card holders, illegal immigrants, and other non-citizens who have lived in D.C. for at least 30 days, to vote in local elections” and
Congress has a constitutional duty to oversee the District of Columbia. H.R. 192 represents the role Congress should take in regard to matters of the District’s governance. Under the U.S. Constitution. Congress is granted “exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever” over the District and, under the Home Rule Act, Congress maintains a critical role to scrutinize and approve of D.C. laws.
Norton showed disappointment about the House’s passage of H.R. 192. In a press release, which said that “Congressional Republicans have introduced 22 bills to overturn D.C. election laws so far this Congress,” Norton said
If House Republicans cared about elections or D.C. residents, they would bring to the floor the D.C. statehood bill, H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, which would give D.C. residents voting representation in Congress and full local self-government. D.C.’s Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 allows D.C. residents who are noncitizens to vote only in local D.C. elections. D.C.’s law is not unique. More than a dozen cities today allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. While the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act applies only to local D.C. elections, there is a long history in the United States, including before its founding, of allowing noncitizens to vote in local, state, territorial and federal elections. Congress should keep its hands off D.C.
It is unlikely that H.R. 192 will become law. The Democratic-controlled Senate most likely will not pass this legislation. Last year, the House-passed resolution (that would have prevented D.C.-government’s passed bill that allowed non-citizens voting in local D.C. elections) went nowhere in the Senate. Republicans use H.R. 192 to interfere with local D.C. issues yet again while causing distrust in elections (which is part of Trump’s plan to accuse Democrats of taking the Presidency from him in the November 2024 elections). However, the Senate has passed other anti-D.C. bills during this Congress. President Biden opposes H.R. 192, but he has not said he would veto it.
D.C. Primary Election
As of May 29, 2024, 523 non-citizens registered to vote in D.C. elections. They included 310 registered Democrats, 28 Republicans, 16 with the D.C. Statehood Green Party, and 169 people who did not register with any political party.
Before D.C.’s 2024 primary election day, D.C.’s BOE received more than 60 calls and voice messages against noncitizen voting. One caller, who did not leave/his/her name, said the following in a voicemail, “Where the hell do you get off letting illegals vote? This is the nation’s capital. You are traitors. Traitors to your own country.” BOE Executive Director Monica Evans said since early April, that office has tracked these calls and messages. She said it “It’s a little disturbing when you get messages like that when we show up and we do our job”.
There seemed to be a correlation between Steil and angry calls to D.C.’s BOE. On April 23, 2024, Steil posted the following on social media above a BOE card on 2024 elections: “🚨Washington, D.C. is actively encouraging noncitizens to vote. This is absurd! We must end noncitizen voting.” After this post, election workers saw an increase in angry calls. In response to a request for a comment, Steil said, “There is absolutely no place for violence or intimidation aimed at election workers.” Some election workers have been the subject of threats in recent years, especially after the 2020 elections. For example, former Georgia election worker Rubey Freeman testified to the U.S. Congress that a mob went to her residence after Trump allies accused her of helping steal the 2020 election.
Someone had written “VOTING NOT A RIGHT IS A PRIVILEGE OF CITIZEN” in colorful chalk near a polling venue in Georgetown. This message could intimidate non-citizen voters.
D.C. held its primary elections on June 4, 2024. It is unclear if fewer non-citizens voted as a result of recent Congressional action. Fewer might have voted because they could have been turned off by Congressional action and might have even thought that the House’s passage of H.R. 192 meant they could not vote in D.C.’s 2024 primaries. Voting rights advocates voiced concern that Republican talking points about non-citizens voting would scare immigrants.
Non-citizens voted in the primary election and were moved by taking part in democracy. For example, Iranian Shaghayegh “Chris” Rostampour said,
Wow, this is what democracy is like, this is what participatory democracy and direct participation is like, and this is what an inclusive society should be like. So I was very thrilled about it. And it made me even happier to live where I live.
Chris also remarked “The very act of voting and feeling like I can have a small impact and I can make a decision, it made me feel very empowered. It made me feel like I had a voice.” Soledad Miranda, who is from El Salvador, said,
I’ve lived in this country for 30 years. I have my daughter who is a U.S. citizen, I pay my taxes, I feel like I have the right to vote. I feel excited. I’ll have an opportunity to cast my vote — not just me, but other people who came here as immigrants and don’t need U.S. citizenship to vote.
On June 4th, Steil posted on social media. He posted “Today, non-citizens will be voting in our nation’s capital for local offices. Non-citizen voting must be stopped.” He also posted a 43-second video about 500 non-citizens registering in D.C. He talked about the House passing a bill banning non-citizen voting and called on the Senate to act on the bill.
Call to Action
Non-citizens should be able to vote in D.C, if it is what D.C. residents would like. Congress must stop being overly concerned in local D.C. affairs.
Comments