Former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli warned Wednesday that Russian or Chinese citizens would be able to vote with their foreign passports in Washington, D.C., under the District’s new voting law.
Cuccinelli testified before the Committee on House Administration, where he warned about what could happen if Congress does not stop the District of Columbia Council’s Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022, which would allow illegal immigrants and legal non-citizens to vote in local elections. The D.C. city council passed the bill in late 2022 and transmitted it to Congress in January.
There are at least 50,000 noncitizens living in the District, according to The Washington Post.
Committee on House Administration Chairman Rep. Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican who has been working on legislation that would require photo ID and other election integrity measures in DC and bar non-citizens from voting in the District, asked Cuccinelli whether the DC law meant that “embassy staff at the Russian embassy or the Chinese embassy living in Washington DC for just 30 days” to “vote in DC elections.”
“That’s exactly what it means,” Cuccinelli responded. (RELATED: House Passes Resolution To Stop Illegal Immigrants From Voting In DC)
“So, if Washington, DC, implemented photo ID for voting and allowed noncitizens to vote, an individual working at the Russian embassy could pull out a Russian embassy passport and vote in our nation’s capitol?” Steil asked.
“That’s exactly right,” Cuccinelli responded, to which Steil replied, “That’s ridiculous.”
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In February, the House voted 260-162 to approve a resolution to block DC’s voting bill. To prevent the bill from becoming law would require the resolution to also pass the Democrat-controlled Senate and be approved by President Joe Biden. In March, Biden signed a similar resolution repealing an overhaul of DC’s criminal code. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: House Oversight Chairman James Comer Introduces Legislation To Bar Illegal Immigrants From Voting In D.C.)
In late January, the Daily Caller broke the news that Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Sen. Ted Cruz would be introducing legislation in the House and Senate that would prevent illegal immigrants and noncitizens from voting in D.C. The legislation prohibits any federal funds from being used by the District to allow non-citizens to vote in any election.
That bill would require D.C. to certify that it does not allow non-citizens to vote in order to apply for or receive any federal funds.