Controversial D.C. Voting Law Survives Legal Challenge: Federal Judge's Verdict Leaves Many Disgruntled

This law permits noncitizens, including undocumented immigrants and foreign embassy staff, to participate in municipal elections.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson, in her 12-page opinion, stated that the plaintiffs, a group of U.S. citizen voters represented by the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), lacked the standing to challenge the law. The plaintiffs failed to demonstrate how they were adversely affected by noncitizens who vote and run for local office.

Jackson wrote in her opinion, "The complaint does not include facts showing plaintiffs' right to vote has been denied, that they have been subjected to discrimination or inequitable treatment or denied opportunities when compared to another group, or that their rights as citizens have been ‘subordinated merely because of [their] father’s country of origin."

 WATCH: SPEAKER JOHNSON CALLS ON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT TO RESIGN

She further stated, "They identify nothing that has been taken away or diminished and no right that has been made subordinate to anyone else's."

 WATCH GREAT ANALYSIS: THE ABSURDITY OF ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS

March 23, 2024

The law in question, the Local Resident Voting Rights Act, was passed by the D.C. Council in October 2022. It stipulates that a noncitizen, if otherwise eligible to vote, can participate in local elections provided they have resided in Washington, D.C., for a minimum of 30 days. The law also allows noncitizen residents to run for D.C. government offices and serve on the city's Board of Elections, as per court documents.

 A CRYING SHAME: PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTS FORCE USC TO CANCEL PRIMARY GRADUATION EVENT

The law sparked significant controversy and led to an unsuccessful attempt in Congress to overturn it. The IRLI lawsuit argued that by allowing noncitizens to vote, the law "dilutes the vote of every U.S. citizen voter in the District."

The legal group contended, "Because it does so, the D.C. Noncitizen Voting Act is subject to review under both the equal protection and the substantive due process components of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."

 REPUBLICAN SENATORS EXPOSE DARK SIDE OF 'FOOD DELIVERY' ECONOMICS

The plaintiffs requested the court to issue an injunction to halt the law's enforcement and prevent the Board of Elections from registering noncitizens to vote or counting their votes.

However, Judge Jackson concurred with the defendants that the complaint should be dismissed due to the plaintiffs' lack of standing to sue. She wrote, "In sum, plaintiffs have not alleged that they have personally been subjected to any sort of disadvantage as individual voters by virtue of the fact that noncitizens are permitted to vote, too."

 HARVEY WEINSTEIN'S CONVICTION OVERTURNED IN NEW YORK! WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE DISGRACED MOVIE MOGUL?

She continued, "At bottom, they are simply raising a generalized grievance which is insufficient to confer standing."

The Immigration Reform Law Institute did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The D.C. Board of Elections declined to comment.

 SEE TO BELIEVE: COMING SOON TO A KID'S DRAG SHOW NEAR YOU...(WATCH)

In a related development, New York City had passed a similar bill with a 30-day requirement in December 2021. However, the bill faced a legal challenge, and in June 2022, a New York judge ruled it illegal, violating the state's constitution. A state appeals court upheld that decision in January.