DC Law That Allows Non-Citizens To Vote ‘A Direct Attack on American Self-Government,’ Lawsuit Says

Under new law, Russian and Chinese diplomats can vote

Advocates for immigration reform are suing Washington, D.C. government over a Tuesday law that allowed illegal immigrants and foreigners the right to vote in local elections. They claim the law is unconstitutional. “direct attack on American self-government” That would allow Russian and Chinese diplomats vote.

The Immigration Reform Law Institute stated that the bill is intended to give non-citizen residents a voice within local politics “automatically dilutes the votes of U.S. citizens on a massive scale.” Its lawsuit, which was filed for the benefit of a former Republican candidate for the presidency, claims that the bill breaches the constitution. “fundamental constitutional right to vote of the plaintiffs” While denying them “equal protection of the law.”

“This law doesn’t just give foreign citizens a voice in our country’s affairs, it gives them voting power that politicians inevitably will have to respond to,” Christopher Hajec is the director of litigation at IRLI. “That transfer of power flies in the face of the clear right of the American people to govern themselves.”

The latest attempt to block D.C.’s municipal voting reform is the lawsuit. It is currently the law of the country in the capital. In February, the ordinance was challenged by Republicans in Congress who have budgetary power over the city government. It also comes as the D.C. government’s sweeping overhaul to the city’s crime laws—which lowered penalties for carjacking and other crimes—was scuttled by Congress and the Biden administration.

In October, the D.C. council approved the voting law. This joins a few other nearby Maryland cities that allow non-citizen voter voting. Under the change, any resident who lives in the district for at least 30 days will have the right to vote in municipal elections—but not federal—regardless of U.S. citizenship status.

IRLI stated that voting is allowed for non-citizens. “even foreign diplomats.”

“By the language of the law, the only requirement is 30 days of residence in the city, so that is the concern by critics,” A spokesperson for IRLI stated this.

The D.C. Board of Elections has not responded to a request for comment about the legal challenge and whether foreign diplomats would have the right to vote in accordance with the law. The Russian and Chinese embassies didn’t respond to our requests for comment.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies’ estimate, the law could allow non-citizens to vote up to 42,000 times. This was based on 2021 Census data.

Opponents of D.C. law claim that non-citizens account for more than 10 percent of city residents and could have an impact on elections.

Similar laws have been challenged in court in other states. New York’s Supreme Court overturned a New York City ordinance last year after finding it to be in violation of the state constitution.