A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a conservative legal group’s lawsuit against a controversial Washington, D.C., law that would allow noncitizens, including illegal immigrants and foreign embassy employees, to vote in local elections.
In a 12-page opinion, Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote that the plaintiffs, a group of U.S. citizen voters represented by the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), cannot prove what harm has been caused by noncitizens. Therefore, he said he had no standing to challenge the law. Run for local government and vote.
The complaint “does not contain any information indicating the following facts.” Plaintiff’s are denied the right to vote, are discriminated against or treated unfairly compared to other groups, or are denied opportunities; It has been placed” [their] The country my father is from,” Jackson wrote.
“They recognize nothing that has been taken away or diminished or subordinated to the rights of others.”
Washington, D.C. law allows non-citizens to vote in elections challenged by lawsuit
Voters head to the polls at the Cleveland Park Public Library on November 8, 2022 in Washington, DC. A law passed in 2022 allows non-citizen residents to vote in local elections in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
The Local Voting Rights Act, passed by the D.C. Council in October 2022, states that noncitizens who are eligible to vote can vote in local elections as long as they live there. Washington DC, For at least 30 days. Noncitizen residents are also allowed to run for government offices in Washington, D.C., and serve on the city’s election board, according to court documents.
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The law was highly controversial, and efforts to overturn it in Congress failed. IRLI’s lawsuit argued that the law “dilutes the votes of all U.S. citizen voters in the district” by allowing noncitizens to vote.
“By doing so, the D.C. Non-Referendum Act is subject to review under both equal protection and the substantive due process elements of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause,” the legal group argues. did.
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A couple checks their ballot before dropping it into a ballot box on Election Day at Eastern Market in Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill neighborhood on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. Conservative legal groups have challenged Washington, D.C.’s nonresident voting law, arguing that it dilutes voting rights. Voting of national voters.
The plaintiffs asked the court to halt enforcement of the law and issue an injunction to prevent the election commission from registering non-citizens to vote or counting votes.
However, the judge agreed with the defendant that the complaint should be dismissed because the plaintiff lacked standing to sue.
“In short, plaintiffs do not allege that they are personally disadvantaged in any way as individual voters by the fact that noncitizens are allowed to vote,” Jackson wrote.
7.2 million illegal aliens have entered the United States under the Biden administration, more than the population of 36 states.
Voters vote on Election Day on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, at Reformed Lutheran Church in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC. A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging D.C.’s nonresident voting law, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked standing. To Sue. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
“They may object to the fact that immigrants have the right to vote as a matter of policy, but their votes will not be given less weight or treated differently than the votes of non-citizens. “They are not losing representation, nor are they losing their rights as citizens.” ” the judge continued.
“After all, they are just raising general grievances, which is not enough to give them status.”
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The Immigration Reform Law Institute and the Washington, D.C., Board of Elections did not respond to requests for comment.
new york city The state passed a similar bill in December 2021 with a 30-day deadline. The bill quickly faced legal challenges, and in June 2022, a New York state judge ruled that it violated the state constitution and was illegal. A state appellate court upheld the ruling in January.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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