Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) has a history of advocating for non-citizen voting rights, as revealed by Fox News this week. In 1993, Raskin wrote a paper defending the concept of “Alien Suffrage.” In the paper, titled “Legal Aliens, Local Citizens: The Historical Constitutional and Theoretical Meanings of Alien Suffrage,” Raskin contended that excluding non-citizens from voting lacks a constitutional and historical basis.
“In this Article, I will argue that the current blanket exclusion of noncitizens from the ballot is neither constitutionally required nor historically normal,” Raskin wrote.
Raskin, who also serves as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, was among the 143 Democrats who voted against a measure this week to prevent noncitizens from voting in Washington, D.C. elections. Contrarily, 52 Democrats joined Republicans in favor of the bill. Despite this split, polling data indicates broad public support for restricting voting to U.S. citizens.
Several municipalities in Maryland, including Takoma Park, have allowed foreign nationals to vote in local elections for decades. Advocates argue that resident aliens should have a say in local governance due to their contributions to community life.
However, polling by RMG Research, Inc. for Americans for Citizen Voting indicates that 75 percent of Americans oppose foreign nationals voting in local elections. This widespread sentiment aligns with Republicans’ motivations for the bill.
Moreover, the debate over noncitizen voting has national implications. House Speaker Mike Johnson recently introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act), which aims to tighten voter registration requirements to ensure only citizens are registered. Republican proponents cite the influx of illegal immigrants as heightening the need for such measures. A series of criminal cases in North Carolina revealed that noncitizens are voting and are three times more likely to vote Democrat.
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