DC Council passes bill to allow noncitizens a chance to vote in local elections
WASHINGTON (7News) — First two weeks ago, and again this week in a required second vote, the D.C. Council passed a measure allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections such as for mayor.
The bill does not distinguish between those legally in the U.S. and those without permission to be here.
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It will make elected officials more accountable to the people who live in the city and give more people a say over decisions that affect their lives whether they are citizens or not, supporters say.
“We’re offering the opportunity for more people that are affected by the decisions of our legislators to have a voice in the process,” Juan Ulloa said.
Ulloa is a board member of the D.C. Latino Caucus, which along with other groups has lobbied for a bill like this for years.
It’s estimated the bill would grant more than 50,000 people the right to vote.
“Noncitizens live here, they pay taxes, they contribute to the economy and our way of life here. But yet, the taxes they pay -- decisions are being made on the money, and yet they have no say on it,” Ulloa said.
However, some have expressed concerns. D.C. law only requires someone to live in the city 30 days before registering to vote. During the meeting in which the council first passed the bill, member Mary Cheh pointed out that means migrants sent here on buses by Texas and Arizona could conceivably vote in city elections if they stay here a month.
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Marguerite Telford with the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for lower immigration levels in the U.S., said the vote devalues citizenship and it is an especially bad idea in the nation’s capital.
“I think it’s very dangerous allowing all these residents who actually are foreign nationals – like in the Chinese embassy, in the Russian embassy – allowing them voting in your elections,” Telford said.
The bill states noncitizens should not register if they still claim the right to vote in another country but it’s unclear how that would be enforced.
The bill will now head to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. A spokesperson from her office told 7News she had not yet received the bill Friday and did not indicate if she would sign it.
If she does, Congress will review it before it can become law.
