Federal judge tossed lawsuit challenging D.C.'s nonresident voting law
Source: The Hill
03/21/24 10:51 PM ET
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., dismissed a lawsuit challenging a district law that allows noncitizens to vote in local elections, ruling the plaintiffs did not prove the law violates their rights. In an opinion issued Thursday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled against a group of seven plaintiffs all of whom are U.S. citizens and registered to vote in D.C. who argued the citys Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 violates their Fifth Amendment rights.
The law, passed by the D.C. Council in 2022, removed the citizenship requirement for voting in municipal elections, allowing noncitizen residents to vote in local, but not federal elections, according to court documents. This includes being able to vote for local officials, along with local initiatives, referenda, recalls or charter amendment measures. The law also allows noncitizen residents to run for D.C. government roles and serve on the citys Board of Elections, per court filings.
The suit, filed against D.C.s Board of Elections, alleged the law dilutes the vote of every U.S. citizen voter in the District. The plaintiffs argued the enfranchisement of noncitizens infringed on their fundamental right to vote, and discriminated against U.S. citizens and native-born U.S. citizens living in D.C. while violating the constitutional right to citizen self-government.
The plaintiffs requested the judge to stop the Board of Elections from registering noncitizens to vote and counting votes cast by noncitizens, per the filing. Jackson ruled the plaintiffs failed to show anything was taken away or diminished from them because of the law.
Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4548990-federal-judge-tossed-lawsuit-challenging-d-c-s-nonresident-voting-law/
SouthernDem4ever
(6,617 posts)I don't get it. Maybe I'm missing something.
BumRushDaShow
(129,127 posts)SouthernDem4ever
(6,617 posts)Still don't get it.
BumRushDaShow
(129,127 posts)and contractors, I expect it may be targeted to many of the contract employees who might be in the U.S. on a green card waiting for their citizenship process to complete (so aren't citizens yet), but live and work there full time and pay taxes there. For tax purposes, they would have needed to be domiciled in the District for at least 183 days per their statute.
The lawsuit that was tossed, had claimed "harm" from that, which the judge indicated wasn't proven, and in those cases, the voting is strictly for "local" purposes (not federal elections).
IbogaProject
(2,816 posts)NYC is trying to have it and it is tied up in court. I'm not in favor, personally. May emigrate with money and buy visas. They should get in line and become citizens if they wish to vote. This isn't about random diplomats or tourists.