Chairman Comer Urges House to Pass Bill to Protect Integrity of Local D.C. Elections

WASHINGTON— House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) delivered remarks on the House floor today in support of H.R. 884, a bill that prohibits noncitizens from voting in elections in the District of Columbia. The legislation, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), protects Americans’ sacred right to vote in U.S. elections and received bipartisan support in the last Congress.

Below are Chairman Comer’s prepared remarks.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I rise in support of H.R. 884 which prohibits individuals who are not citizens of the United States from voting in elections in the District of Columbia. 

On November 21, 2022, the D.C. government enacted the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act, permitting noncitizen residents to vote in D.C. local elections.

This includes illegal immigrants and even foreign diplomats, whose interests may be opposed to the interests of Americans. 

This radical change to D.C.’s election laws upset lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. 

For instance, D.C. Mayor Bowser withheld her signature on the Act—something she has done only a handful of times. 

And last Congress, when an identical bill was brought to the floor, 262 members voted in favor, including 52 of my colleagues from the other side of the aisle. 

Unfortunately, the Senate refused to take up this bipartisan, commonsense bill to maintain election integrity in our nation’s capital. 

The right to vote is a defining privilege of American citizenship. 

Diluting that right by extending it to noncitizens—whether here legally or illegally—undermines the voice of D.C. residents. 

Article I of the Constitution grants Congress exclusive jurisdiction over the nation’s capital. 

And the House Oversight Committee is charged with ensuring responsible governance in the District, including its election laws. 

I urge my colleagues to support Representative Pfluger’s bill to restore commonsense protections and ensure that only U.S. citizens have the right to vote in local D.C. elections.