D.C. Council votes to dilute its citizens’ votes

OPINION:

The D.C. Council has passed B24-0300, the “Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022,” and sent it to Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat. The bill would allow alien residents of the District to vote in various local elections, including for mayor and council members, as well as on initiatives, referendums and recalls. It’s a bad idea that dilutes citizens’ power in Washington while granting some objectively hostile characters a say in how the local government runs.

Report language on the bill contends it is “the next step in the expansion of the franchise,” following on other recent efforts to remove “financial, logistical, educational, or legal” barriers to voting, “particularly [for] those in historically underrepresented communities.” 

In other words, the supporters of this legislation assert they’re building upon the noble efforts of civil rights leaders of the past who — often at great personal risk — erased and remedied unconscionable discrimination and disenfranchisement. 

Respectfully, it’s nothing of the sort. Alienage isn’t an “immutable characteristic” — that is, a quality an individual cannot change (like race) or should not be forced to change (like religious belief). Aliens have a pathway to citizenship, provided they enter legally or lawfully gain status. We venerate America as a “nation of immigrants” because such opportunities exist.

You can trust me on this. For eight years, I was an immigration judge and officiated countless naturalization ceremonies. Of all the authorities given officers of the United States, none carries the same gravity as the power to convey our country’s most precious gift, citizenship, to erstwhile foreign nationals. 

And I would never forget to encourage my new, fellow citizens to register to vote. That’s because in our republic, the citizens are sovereign. That sovereignty is expressed through our ability to vote for our representatives, who in turn make the laws by which we agree to be governed.

B24-0300 doesn’t trash the concept of citizenship so much as it dilutes and cheapens it. It grants voting rights based on nothing more than 30 days of D.C. residence — regardless of whether an individual plans, or is even able, to put down permanent roots, contribute to the city and have an interest in the commonweal.

In that, this bill is at least consistent with the president’s immigration policies. 

In a September 2021 memo justifying guidelines (currently vacated pending review) that impose undue burdens on immigration enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security argues that tying the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers advances the administration’s “stated commitment to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”

Equating convicted alien criminals with Americans subject to past discrimination is disingenuous at best and distasteful at worse. But, if you want to know why the Biden administration refuses to enforce the immigration laws, it’s because the president likens them to poll taxes and the color bar.

With isolated exceptions, the franchise has always been conveyed consistent with and dependent upon citizenship — it’s one of the gifts given to U.S. citizens by right. 

Now, however, the D.C. Council wants to extend that gift to not only green card holders but also diplomats accredited to foreign embassies. Who really thinks attachés from China, Cuba or Nicaragua — each of whom would be allowed to vote under B24-0300 — have the District’s best interests at heart?

It’s madness, but the inevitable consequence of this bill. 

Many in the nation’s capital complain they lack real representation at the federal level — “Taxation Without Representation” has been emblazoned on the city’s license plates for years. Rather than expanding the voting rights of citizens who are D.C. residents, however, the council now wants to water down their votes by granting the franchise to foreign nationals. That’s its choice, but it’s not smart — or fair.            

• Andrew Arthur is the Center for Immigration Studies resident fellow in law and policy.