Tuesday, the Washington D.C. council will take up debate on a bill that, if passed, would allow non-citizen residents of the district to vote in local elections.

Earlier this month the D.C. council’s judiciary and public safety committee unanimously approved the bill, the Local Resident Voting Rights Act of 2022.

“Allowing our non-citizen neighbors, many of whom have lived and worked in the District for decades, to participate in our elections can only strengthen our democracy and our communities,” the judiciary and public safety committee said.

The bill would allow non-citizen residents of the district to vote in local elections if they have lived there for at least 30 days and did not claim the right to vote in any other state or territory.

According to 2020 Census data, immigrants account for just over one-seventh of Washington D.C.’s population, meaning the new voting bloc could likely swing elections.

The hearing Tuesday will be the first step in the district’s legislative process that will ultimately conclude with a congressional review of the law, in which Congress may allow the law to go into effect or pass a joint resolution against it.

Five members of the 13-member city council have already voted in favor of the legislation in committee, including both of the council’s independent members and three of its 11 Democrats.

Even though Washington D.C. lawmakers are only beginning the legislative push, members of Congress have already taken notice.

In August, 30 members of the House — all Republicans — signaled that they would oppose the bill, and signed off on a bill introduced by an Illinois congressman, Rodney Davis, that would preempt the district’s measure.

Mr. Davis’ bill would ban anyone from voting in the District of Columbia “unless the individual is a citizen of the United States.” However, it looks unlikely to pass in the current House and Senate.

Mr. Davis introduced a similar measure in February as an amendment to the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, though the amendment was rejected.

If Congress were to intervene or the Washington D.C. council were to reject the bill, it would join recently defeated efforts to give non-citizens at Portland, Maine and New York City the vote.

In Maine, the Portland city council decided not to put a measure that would have allowed non-citizens to vote in municipal elections on the ballot this November.

A city commissioner there, Pat Washburn, tells the Sun that people were concerned with the consequences that non-citizens might face if they were to mistakenly cast a ballot in state or federal elections.

At New York City, the city council passed a measure, which Mayor Adams allowed to go into effect, that would have allowed for the city’s 800,000 non-citizen residents to vote in city elections.

A state court, however, ruled that the law was in violation of the New York constitution in June. Advocates of the law have appealed the decision.

At the center of the growing national debate over non-citizen voting in local elections is a disagreement over the role that immigration and citizenship should play in democracy.

At Washington D.C., advocates argue that their recent efforts are a necessary expansion of democracy and a reaction to “another wave of anti-immigrant sentiment,” as it is framed in the bill’s committee report.

Advocates also argue that allowing non-citizen residents to vote will give them representation in their government. Non-citizens rely on the government, these advocates say, even as they lack a voice in choosing their representatives.

“Voting creates a vested interest, stake, and sense of belonging in a community, and for too long, many of our residents have been excluded from this right,” Councilwoman Brianne Nadeau said.

Though the bill has not encountered much resistance within the Washington D.C. council, critics argue that allowing noncitizens to vote devalues citizenship.

“Non-citizen voting dilutes the value of citizenship, normalizes illegal immigration, and invites foreign nationals to interfere in U.S. elections,” congressman Jeff Duncan said in a statement. 

“Allowing non-citizens to vote suppresses the voice of citizens, undermines the rights of Americans, and puts our democracy at risk,” he added.

The criticisms are reminiscent of the arguments advanced by Republicans who filed the lawsuit in New York. Yet while non-citizen voting was struck down in New York, it was done so on the basis of the Empire State’s laws and constitution, factors which do not apply to D.C. lawmakers.