U.S. Senator Katie Britt Leads Colleagues in D.C. Election Integrity Legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) led 21 of her Republican Senate colleagues in introducing legislation to ban noncitizens from voting in D.C. elections.
In 2022, the D.C. City Council passed a law allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections. Due to this change, illegal aliens and foreign embassy staff have been given as much say as American citizens over who leads the nation’s capital in elections including for Mayor, Attorney General, and City Council members.
“This isn’t just about local school boards or fixing potholes. This is about the direction of our nation’s capital,” said Senator Britt. “In the city representing the strongest democratic republic in the world, the D.C. City Council chose to flagrantly violate one of democracy’s core principles. This is a slap in the face to every American citizen, whether they live in D.C. or not, who should be the only voters deciding who represents them in every election and at every level of government. I am hopeful we gain bipartisan support in the Senate for this commonsense bill–it is our duty to protect the votes of hardworking American citizens, including those who came to our country legally and took the time and effort to go through the naturalization process. Ultimately, this is about strengthening the integrity of our elections.”
Surveys repeatedly show an overwhelming majority of Americans—between 85 to 90 percent—support protecting the sanctity of our elections by allowing only U.S. citizens to participate in them.
This bill is the Senate companion to Representative August Pfluger’s (R-Texas) legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, where it passed with bipartisan support after 54 House Democrats joined Republicans in backing the measure.
Senator Britt is joined by 21 of her colleagues in introducing this legislation, including Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.).
The full bill text can be viewed here.
In the 118th Congress, Senator Britt was the lead Senate sponsor of the Citizen Ballot Protection Act that would ensure States are able to better verify that only American citizens are voting in federal elections. “We are seeing certain cities across our nation begin to openly allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. This effectively disenfranchises hardworking American citizens, insults those American citizens who came to our country legally and took the time and effort to go through the citizenship process, and undermines faith in our entire electoral system – which is a cornerstone of our nation that we cannot allow to crumble,” Senator Britt previously stated.
In recent years, cities in Maryland, Vermont, and New York have also passed measures allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections.
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