D.C. Noncitizen Voting Law Legal Battle Ends: Undocumented Immigrants Keep Voting Rights

The D.C. noncitizen voting law lawsuit brought by IRLI was dismissed due to insufficient standing

Plaintiffs Lack Standing to Challenge Legislation and Cannot Prove Personal Harm

In a recent move, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Immigration Reform Rule Institute (IRLI) contesting a D.C. rule that permits noncitizens to cast ballots in local elections, based on an American Military News report. This includes illegal immigrants and employees of foreign embassies. Because the plaintiffs were unable to provide evidence of how the Act had personally harmed them, Judge Amy Berman Jackson determined that the IRLI lacked standing to challenge the law. Judge Jackson stressed that the plaintiffs showed no particular disadvantage as voters under the statute, despite protests from the conservative group representing voters who are citizens of the United States.

Court Upholds Law Giving Undocumented Immigrants Voting Rights (PHOTO: CNN)

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Legal Debate Resurfaced Regarding D.C. Law Giving Noncitizens the Ability to Vote

The “Local Resident Voting Rights Act,” which was enacted by the D.C. Council in 2022, allows noncitizens who have lived in Washington, D.C. for thirty days or longer to run for local government and perhaps hold public office. The recent ruling highlights the legal challenges in restricting voting rights based on citizenship status, even though the law has caused controversy and faced attempts to be overturned. The judge noted that there is a lack of evidence demonstrating harm to individual citizen voters as a result of noncitizen participation in the electoral process.

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