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Tags: non | citizens | mike johnson | donald trump | congress

Congress Votes to Block Non-Citizens Voting in D.C.

By    |   Thursday, 23 May 2024 03:11 PM EDT

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to ban non-citizens from voting in Washington, D.C., elections, with 52 Democrats joining all Republicans in voting in favor.

The bill overrides a local Washington, D.C. law and is part of a series of bills aimed at enshrining into law that only citizens can vote in elections, the Washington Examiner said.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, applauded the passage.

"Voting is a pillar of American democracy and a constitutional right that undeniably needs to be protected and preserved for citizens of this country," Comer said.

The legislation has been championed by former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Another bill being proposed is the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require proof of citizenship before registering to vote.

"There is currently an unprecedented and a clear and present danger to the integrity of our election system," Johnson said at a press conference earlier this month. "And that is the threat of noncitizens and illegal aliens voting in our elections."

According to a recent Washington Post report, federal law bans noncitizens from voting in federal elections, including races for president, vice president, Senate or House of Representatives. Under a law adopted in 1996, noncitizens who vote can face a fine or a prison term as long as a year, or both, as well as deportation.  

In his travels to cities nationwide, Johnson said the first or second question he's asked in every forum is about election security.

"Americans are deeply concerned about this and it doesn't matter where you live or whether you're in a blue state or a red state," Johnson said. "Due to the wide-open border that the Biden administration has refused to close — in fact that they engineered to open — we now have so many noncitizens in the country that if only one out of 100 of those voted, they would cast hundreds of thousands of votes."

Johnson said he has not been able to prove that illegal immigrants are voting in elections, the Examiner reported. Democrats said the legislation is redundant and designed for Trump to claim election fraud if he loses in November, Politico reported.

"It’s a cynical effort to whip their supporters into a frenzy over something that doesn’t exist," Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., told Politico. "I mean, it’s already illegal!"

Sam Barron

Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.

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Politics
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to ban non-citizens from voting in Washington, D.C. elections, with 52 Democrats joining all Republicans in voting in favor.
non, citizens, mike johnson, donald trump, congress
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2024-11-23
Thursday, 23 May 2024 03:11 PM
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