Top Democrat Pushed For Noncitizen Voter Rights, Paper Shows
Fox News revealed Thursday that Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, who is a ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, authored a paper in 1993 that advocated for noncitizens to vote in U.S. elections.
Raskin argued that the U.S. Constitution did not “intend” for there to be a citizenship requirement when voting in elections, in his paper “Legal Aliens, Local Citizens: The Historical Constitutional and Theoretical Meanings of Alien Suffrage.”
“In this Article, I will argue that the current blanket exclusion of noncitizens from the ballot is neither constitutionally required nor historically normal. Moreover, the disenfranchisement of aliens at the local level is vulnerable to deep theoretical objections since resident aliens — who are governed, taxed, and often drafted just like citizens — have a strong democratic claim to being considered members, indeed citizens, of their local communities,” Raskin wrote. He went on to argue that the Founding Fathers considered citizenship terms for the President, but did not include those same requirements for voters.
“If such language is not designed to exclude aliens from voting, perhaps it discloses a general understanding that voting is for citizens only. But this reading is badly strained: the language specifies only that states may not exclude any citizen from the franchise on the basis of race, not that the states may not include non-citizens in the franchise,” he stated. (LEARN MORE: Gov. Signs 3 Huge Election Integrity Bills Ahead Of Nov. 2024)
Lawmakers Approve Ban On Noncitizen Voting Rights
The House approved a bill Thursday that seeks to ban noncitizens from voting in elections local to Washington D.C., The Hill reported. The bill passed 262-143, a move that could repeal a 2022 measure that allowed some noncitizens residents of D.C. to vote in local elections. (LEARN MORE: State Finds County Violated Election Law In 2022)
“The city council has decided they want noncitizens and foreign actors deciding who will serve as mayor and the local, attorney general here. As the body in charge of overseeing DC, Congress will not support such lawless behavior,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said prior to the vote.
Protecting Our Elections And Ourselves
Since the start of the Biden administration, millions of illegal immigrants have streamed into the U.S. across both our northern and southern borders. A Reuters and Ipsos poll released in May found that 56% of U.S. voters support the deportation of illegal immigrants. But some lawmakers, like Raskin, want noncitizens to be able to control their rights in their birthplace. (LEARN MORE: Feds Reportedly Release Terrorist ‘Accidentally’)
Securing the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada is one of the major tasks of the American public to the federal government in 2024. In doing so, we could be a huge step closer to protecting our elections. (LEARN MORE: Interview Suggests New Evidence On Voter Machine Issues In 2020)
By contacting your local representatives to share your concerns or questions about the border crisis, we can start a national conversation about protecting us, the American people. You don’t have to wait until election season to have your voice heard. You can use it today!
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