D.C. Voting Rights Rollback: Bill Seeks to Bar Non-Citizens from All Local Elections and Repeal 2022 Law

This legislation aims to immediately stop non-U.S. citizens from casting ballots in any election within the District of Columbia. This prohibition covers everything from choosing local public officials to voting on ballot initiatives and referendums. The bill’s core action is twofold: setting a U.S. citizenship requirement for voting in D.C. and, crucially, completely wiping out the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022.

Hitting the 'Undo' Button on Local Voting

Section 2 is where the biggest real-world impact hits, because it repeals the 2022 Act that previously allowed non-citizens—including permanent residents and those with temporary protected status—to vote in D.C. local elections. Think of it like hitting the 'undo' button on that entire piece of legislation. By repealing the 2022 law, the bill instantly removes the voting access that non-citizen residents had gained. For someone who has lived and worked in D.C. for years, pays local taxes, and has been able to vote on their local city council representative since 2022, this bill means they lose that franchise overnight.

Who This Affects and How

This bill directly impacts the thousands of non-U.S. citizen residents of the District of Columbia. These individuals, who contribute to the local tax base and are subject to D.C. laws, would once again be barred from having a say on local issues that affect their daily lives, like school board elections, local tax rates, or neighborhood zoning changes. For example, a non-citizen parent who was previously eligible to vote for the local school board would lose that right, even though the decisions made by that board directly affect their children’s education.

The Administrative Reversion

By reverting D.C. election rules to their pre-2022 status, the bill creates a clear, albeit restrictive, standard: only U.S. citizens can vote. While this simplifies the eligibility criteria by aligning D.C. elections with federal standards, the immediate repeal of the 2022 Act could create administrative confusion. Any non-citizen voter who registered under the 2022 law would need to be removed from the voter rolls, and any future local initiatives would proceed with a smaller, citizen-only electorate. This change effectively narrows the pool of registered voters who can weigh in on local governance, making election outcomes solely dependent on the U.S. citizen population.