Washington, D.C. considers allowing non-citizens to vote

Non-American citizens who have permanent resident status in the D.C. area may be granted the right to vote in municipal elections if D.C. council members ratify the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2015, the Weekly Standard reports.

D.C. council member David Grosso (I-At-Large), who introduced the bill along with several other council members Tuesday, said that the more than 53,000 foreign-born adults who live in the nation's capital "are taxpayers that should have the opportunity to have their voices heard in local elections."

According to the Standard, allowing non-citizens to vote in some capacity is not unheard of: Some parts of Maryland already allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, Chicago permits non-citizens to elect school board officials, and in California, non-citizens can act as poll monitors, practice law, and serve on juries.

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