A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has thrown out a lawsuit disputing a local law permitting noncitizens to participate in local elections but not federal ones.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson, presiding over the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, approved a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, citing the plaintiffs' inability to demonstrate standing by showing personal harm. According to the judge, the seven voters who initiated the lawsuit failed to prove any individual disadvantage stemming from the inclusion of noncitizens in the voting process.
The seven D.C. residents who initiated the lawsuit contended that the law, passed in 2022 but scheduled to take effect during the 2024 elections, violates the 5th Amendment to the Constitution and the “constitutional right of citizen self-government.” They argued that participation in federal elections is exclusively designated for U.S. citizens.
House Republicans sought to obstruct the law, which, like all legislation in Washington, undergoes congressional review. Their efforts in early 2023, however, were not pursued by the Senate before the expiration of the 30-day deadline.
