The District has joined several jurisdictions throughout the country that permit noncitizens to vote in local elections.
The 2024 primary/general election cycle will be the first time that District residents who are not U.S. citizens are allowed to cast a ballot for offices such as D.C. Council member, advisory neighborhood commissioner and Board of Education member.
In 2026, noncitizens will be able to vote for D.C.’s mayor, Council chairman, attorney general, and other offices that will be up, and referendums and initiatives. They will also be able to recall and charter amendment measures.
However, noncitizens will not be permitted to vote for D.C. delegate or in the presidential race because those are federal offices.
Longtime District resident and Latina activist Monica Palacio supports non-citizen voting.
“I think it is fantastic that non-citizens will be able to vote in city elections,” Palacio, 55, said. “This is cutting edge. Even though the city is only 10% Latino, there are other groups such as Ethiopians, Haitians and Salvadoreans that make up this city. This city is very much multicultural, and people who are from other countries can experience true democracy through noncitizen voting.”
Noncitizen Voting Requirements
The District of Columbia Board of Elections reports that to register to vote in the city as a non U.S. citizen resident, one must be at least 16 years old, the age residents are able pre-register to vote. District residents can vote in a primary if they are at least 17 years old and will be at least 18 years old by the next general election.
A District resident who is not a citizen may vote in a general or special election if they are at least 18 years old. Noncitizens must maintain residency in the District for at least 30 days prior to the election in which they intend to vote.
Additionally, noncitizens cannot claim voting residence or the right to vote in any state, territory or country and they must be found legally competent to cast a ballot.
The Road to Noncitizen Voting
Noncitizens earned the right to vote in local elections through the D.C. Council’s passage of the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022. The legislation was introduced a few sessions before 2022 but never reached a final vote until then.
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives voted to overturn the local law, but the effort stalled in the U.S. Senate and the legislation became official. In March, a federal court dismissed a lawsuit filed by two District residents who were supported by the Immigration Reform Law Institute, which sought to have the law declared unconstitutional.
The court found the plaintiffs did not have standing to challenge the law. The opinion concludes: “At bottom, they [plaintiffs] are simply raising a generalized grievance which is insufficient to confer standing.”
Noncitizen Voting Advocacy
One of the results of the noncitizen voting process was the election of Abel Amene as an advisory neighborhood commissioner in 4D02 in Ward 4.
Abel, an Ethiopian immigrant who goes by his first name because of his culture, has become the first noncitizen to hold public office in the District.
The elected noncitizen is a green card holder, making him a permanent resident. District government officials estimate there are more than 50,000 noncitizens living in the city.
D.C. Shadow Rep. Oye Owolewa said he has been working with a local advocacy group to encourage noncitizens to register to vote.
“As the son of Nigerian immigrants, I am glad to see the District implement this,” Owolewa, 34, said. “We have been talking to people and addressing their fears. It is important that people get involved in the process.”