House Democrats brace for a fight as they rally to defend Washington, D.C.'s controversial law granting noncitizens the vote in local elections, while Republicans push back, invoking constitutional concerns and raising the stakes for electoral integrity.
House Democratic leadership is marshaling its forces to counter a GOP initiative aiming to prevent noncitizens from participating in local elections in Washington, D.C.
According to information obtained by Axios, the Democratic whip team is poised to rally members against Republican efforts to overturn a D.C. law permitting noncitizen voting in local elections. This move, scheduled for a vote this week, marks the second attempt by congressional Republicans to nullify the D.C. law.
The D.C. Noncitizen Voting Act, passed by the D.C. Council in October 2022, grants voting rights to residents without citizenship, including undocumented immigrants, exclusively in local elections. Despite being a local regulation, its jurisdiction falls under Congress, granting Congress the power to annul laws enacted by the council.
Following the passage of the D.C. Noncitizen Voting Act, Republicans at both local and national levels swiftly moved to challenge it.
In January 2023, Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Sen. Ted Cruz introduced parallel legislation in the House and Senate respectively, aiming to prohibit illegal immigrants and noncitizens from voting in the nation's capital, citing constitutional concerns.
"Allowing non-citizens, including aliens occupying our nation illegally, to exercise a right reserved for American citizens not only violates the constitutional principles our nation was founded upon but also naively invites foreign meddling in our elections," Cruz articulated to the Daily Caller at that time.
Although House Republicans successfully passed a resolution striking down the D.C. ordinance in February 2023, the Democrat-controlled Senate did not take it up, leaving the law intact.
Moreover, in March 2023, local D.C. residents represented by the Immigration Reform Law Institute initiated a lawsuit against the ordinance, but it was subsequently dismissed by a federal judge.
The impending vote is anticipated to challenge many House Democrats in competitive districts, potentially prompting them to defy party leadership. In the previous vote rejecting the D.C. law, 42 Democrats sided with Republicans, resulting in a 260-162 outcome.
As the election approaches and polling suggests a rightward shift in public opinion on border security, vulnerable Democrats have adopted more stringent positions on the issue. Earlier this month, thirteen House Democrats aligned with Republicans in supporting H. Res. 1112, a resolution criticizing President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' immigration policies.
Texas Republican Rep. August Pfluger is among the sponsors of the latest bill aimed at invalidating the D.C. ordinance. Pfluger emphasized the necessity of his legislation in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation on Monday.
"If you’re in the United States illegally, you don’t have the right to vote — period," Pfluger asserted. "Liberals in Washington, D.C., who want to allow noncitizens, including illegal immigrants and foreign agents, to vote are putting the integrity of our election system at risk. My bill will put a stop to it."
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