WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has dismissed a lawsuit that challenged a local law allowing noncitizens to vote in municipal elections. In her ruling, Judge Amy Berman Jackson stated that the plaintiffs did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that the law violated their constitutional rights.
The lawsuit was filed by a group of seven U.S. citizens who are registered to vote in the District of Columbia. They argued that the city’s “Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022” infringed upon their Fifth Amendment rights. However, Judge Jackson determined that the plaintiffs failed to show any harm caused by the law.
According to court documents, the law passed by the D.C. Council in 2022 removed the requirement of U.S. citizenship for voting in local elections. It allows noncitizen residents to vote for local officials and participate in local initiatives, referenda, recalls, or charter amendment measures. Noncitizens are also eligible to run for D.C. government roles and serve on the city’s Board of Elections.
The plaintiffs claimed that the enfranchisement of noncitizens diluted the votes of U.S. citizen voters in the District and violated their fundamental right to vote. However, Judge Jackson reasoned that the plaintiffs’ votes would not be treated differently from noncitizens’ votes and that citizens’ representation in legislative bodies was not compromised. She argued that the plaintiffs were raising a generalized grievance rather than pointing to specific harm caused by the law.
Among the plaintiffs were Stacia Hall, a Republican candidate who ran against D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2022, and Ralph Chittams, a Republican candidate for a city council seat in 2018.
The issue of noncitizen voting in D.C. drew attention on Capitol Hill last year when the House approved resolutions in an attempt to block the measures. However, the resolutions were not voted upon within the required time frame in the Senate, allowing the law to take effect.
This decision by Judge Jackson affirms the legality of the D.C. law and its provisions for noncitizen voting in local elections. The ruling highlights the ongoing debate over the extension of voting rights to noncitizens and the role of citizenship in determining eligibility to vote.