Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is taking a stand against allowing non-citizens to vote in American elections. He announced that he has introduced a bill in the Senate that is designed to prohibit the municipal government of Washington, D.C., from using federal taxpayer funds to take steps allowing anyone other than U.S. citizens to vote in its local elections.
In October, the D.C. city council passed an ordinance titled the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act. It creates a right for all residents to vote in city elections, regardless of their citizenship or legal status.
Councilmember Brianne Nadeau was the chief sponsor of the new city ordinance. She said the purpose of the act is to allow “those who have made the District their home have the right for their voices to be heard in our local issues, no matter their immigration status.”
Voting is a distinct right and privilege that American citizens enjoy in the United States. It is a responsibility, not to be treated lightly, and it must be protected. 1/xhttps://t.co/wal47uC6qa
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) November 18, 2022
In his statement accompanying his new bill, Cruz said voting is a “distinct right and privilege” enjoyed by American citizens in the U.S.
He added that voting is a “responsibility, not to be treated lightly, and it must be protected.” He said the D.C. bill allows people to “decide not only who will lead our country, our cities and communities, but also how our tax dollars should be spent and what policies we should adopt “ who have never had a legal right historically to do so.
Cruz noted that even the progressive Washington Post has agreed that it is a “terrible idea” to allow non-citizens to vote in American elections. He said the new D.C. ordinance and others like it will “open our country up to foreign influence” while granting one of the most sacred privileges of U.S. citizenship to people who are openly and brazenly violating the nation’s laws.
The Texas senator added that allowing non-citizens to vote could help “hostile foreign governments to take advantage and direct our resources against our will.”
Washington, D.C., manages its own municipal government but under the Constitution, Congress has legal jurisdiction over the District of Columbia. Republicans, who will retake control of the House in January after winning a narrow majority in last week’s midterm elections, have said they will act to curtail the local non-citizen voting rule and another controversial ordinance passed by the Washington city council.
The council has adopted a comprehensive ordinance overhauling the city’s criminal code to substantially relax law enforcement and prosecution of crime. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) will become chair of the House Oversight Committee in January and has said the committee will prevent the ordinance from going into effect.
