To prohibit individuals who are not citizens of the United States from voting in elections in the District of Columbia and to repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022.
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Would prohibit non-U.S. citizens from voting in District of Columbia elections — including local races and ballot initiatives — and would repeal the D.C. law enacted in 2022 that allowed noncitizen residents to participate in local elections.
The bill directly reverses a D.C. policy that had extended local voting rights to qualifying noncitizen residents, making it a flashpoint in the broader national debate over noncitizen voting rights.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would bar any individual who is not a U.S. citizen from voting in any D.C. election — whether for public office or on a ballot initiative or referendum. It would also repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-242), the District law that allowed noncitizen residents who met residency and other requirements to vote in local elections, and would restore any laws that the 2022 D.C. act had itself amended or repealed, as if the D.C. law had never taken effect.
The bill would not affect federal elections, which already bar noncitizen voting under existing federal law. Its operative reach is limited to the District of Columbia and does not directly regulate noncitizen voting policies in any U.S. state or territory.
Key provisions
- 1Would prohibit any non-U.S. citizen from voting in any D.C. election for public office or on any D.C. ballot initiative or referendum.
- 2Would repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-242) and restore any laws that act amended or repealed.
Who would be affected
Noncitizen residents of the District of Columbia who had gained local voting eligibility under the 2022 D.C. law would lose the ability to vote in D.C. elections. D.C. election officials would also be affected, as they would need to revert to prior eligibility rules. The bill does not affect U.S. citizens in D.C. or elsewhere.
Why it matters
Noncitizen residents of D.C. who registered and voted — or planned to vote — in local elections under the 2022 law would be disenfranchised from those elections going forward. D.C.'s local government would lose the authority it had exercised since February 2023 to extend the franchise beyond U.S. citizens for local races.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Repeals Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-242) (Sec. 2)
Strikes the D.C. law allowing qualifying noncitizen residents to vote in local elections and revives any prior laws it had changed.
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 884 would have no effect on the federal budget, with zero impact on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit over the 2025–2035 period.
CBO estimates that H.R. 884 would not affect the federal budget because the bill would not change federal responsibilities — direct spending, revenues, and the deficit all show $0 impact for 2025, 2025–2030, and 2025–2035. The bill would impose an intergovernmental mandate (by repealing D.C. Law 24-242) and a private-sector mandate (by prohibiting noncitizen permanent residents from voting in D.C. elections and ballot initiatives), but CBO estimates the costs of both mandates would fall below the annual thresholds set by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act ($103 million for intergovernmental and $206 million for private-sector mandates in 2025). Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply, and the bill would not increase on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2036.
How implementation would work
The bill is largely self-executing: the prohibition in Section 1 would take effect upon enactment, and the repeal in Section 2 would automatically void D.C. Law 24-242 and revive any prior D.C. law it had displaced. No agency rulemaking or grant process is required. D.C. election officials would need to update voter registration rules and eligibility determinations to conform to the restored pre-2022 framework.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill prohibits a non-U.S. citizen from voting in a District of Columbia (DC) election and repeals relevant provisions of DC law.
Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting in a federal election; however, in 2022, DC enacted a law allowing noncitizens who meet residency and other requirements to vote in local elections. This bill repeals the DC law, which went into effect on February 23, 2023.
Legislative subjects
District of Columbia; Elections, voting, political campaign regulation; Government Operations and Politics; Immigration status and procedures; State and local government operations; Voting rights
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-137