GOP committee chair demands answers from DC officials on controversial noncitizen voting law

FIRST ON FOX: A top House Republican is demanding answers from Washington D.C. officials about the implementation of a new law allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections, and possible encouragement for them to do so, even as non-citizens remain barred from voting in federal elections. 

House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil wrote to the D.C. Board of Elections expressing concern about the 2022 legislation now in effect which allows some non-citizens to vote in local elections. His committee has oversight over how elections are conducted.

“American elections are for American citizens only,” Steil said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “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.” 

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The Local Resident Voting Rights Act was passed by the D.C. Council in October 2022 and states that if a non-citizen is otherwise qualified to vote, they can do so in local elections so long as they have resided in Washington, D.C., for at least 30 days. It also permits non-citizen residents to run for Washington, D.C., government offices and serve on the city’s Board of Elections, according to court documents. However, it does not allow illegal immigrants to vote.

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Committee on House Administration Chairman Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., speaking at a press conference and flanked by fellow committee Reps. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., and Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., in Marietta, Georgia on Monday, July 10, 2023. (Committee on House Administration)

The law sparked outrage from Republicans and an unsuccessful effort in Congress to overturn it. In his letter, Steil pointed to moves he says are actively encouraging non-citizen voting by officials.

“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,” he said.

His letter asks a string of questions, including how election workers will differentiate between those qualified to vote and those not, and whether foreign nationals representing their capitals as embassy personnel, will be able to vote.

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He also asks why a form for non-citizen registration allegedly does not have the requirement that an applicant not be in jail for a felony conviction, in addition to the legal guidance the board has relied upon for the implementation of the act.

The letter says after Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, introduced a bill to require proof of citizenship in any municipal election in D.C.

New York City had passed a similar bill on noncitizen voting in December 2021. That bill quickly faced a legal challenge, and in June, a New York judge ruled that it was illegal, violating the state’s constitution.

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