Democrats tee up showdown with GOP over non-citizen voting

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Axios

5 hours ago


House Democratic leadership is formally pushing its members to vote against a Republican bill that would block a Washington, D.C. law allowing non-citizen voting in local elections, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: It sets up a politically charged showdown this week on immigration and D.C. home rule that could see some Democrats split from their leadership.

This dynamic has played out repeatedly in the 118th Congress – with House Republicans using their majority to try to overturn progressive D.C. laws and squeeze Democrats in the process.

Republicans' campaign apparatus has made these fights especially difficult for vulnerable Democrats by targeting those who vote against repealing D.C. laws on crime and immigration.

Driving the news: In a whip question sent to House Democrats on Saturday night, a copy of which was obtained by Axios, House Minority Leader Katherine Clark's (D-Mass.) office said lawmakers are "urged to VOTE NO" on the four-page bill.

That means Democratic leadership will officially send their whip team to try to get as many of their members as possible to vote against the bill.

The whip question noted that "16 other jurisdictions across the U.S. have enacted similar provisions" allowing non-citizen voting and that "nearly all House Democrats have voted in the past in support of D.C.'s right for self-governance and statehood."

"House Republicans are once again attempting to undermine the political self-determination of the nearly 700,000 residents of Washington, D.C.," it added.

Zoom in: The vote, slated for either Wednesday or Thursday, will mark the second time House Republicans have tried to overturn non-citizen voting in D.C.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2024/05/19/house-democrats-republicans-noncitizen-voting-dc