(THE NATIONAL PULSE) – For the first time, non-citizen residents of Washington, D.C., went to the polls to help determine the city’s leadership. Over 500 noncitizens registered to vote, and almost none backed Republican candidates.
Just 5.35 percent of the new noncitizens registered in the nation’s capital as Republicans. Meanwhile, 59.27 percent of the noncitizen voters registered with the Democratic Party. However, the numbers for Democratic support are likely higher as another 32.31 percent of the voter demographic filed Independent registrations—which tend to break for Democrats in the city’s elections—and another 3.06 percent of noncitizen voters identified with the Statehood Green Party.
The National Pulse has reported extensively on the rise of noncitizen voting. While it is technically legal for city governments to allow noncitizens voting rights in municipal elections, the voting policy raises concerns about these voters being illicitly permitted to participate in state and federal races.
