Green Mountain Times

The Republican National Committee (RNC) is suing two Vermont towns, Montpelier and Winooski, over their granting non-citizens the right to vote in local elections.

The RNC called the amendments to the towns' charters, which allow noncitizens to vote, a “radical scheme passed by Vermont Democrats,” and alleges it violates the state’s constitution requiring voters in Vermont to be U.S. citizens.

The Associated Press reports that Winooski voted in November to let non-citizens vote in local elections. Montpelier allowed it in 2019.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. | GOP chairwoman

“Democrats are trying to dismantle the integrity of our elections,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a news release. “In addition to attacking widely supported safeguards like voter ID, Democrats also want foreign citizens to vote in American elections. Republicans are fighting back on this far-left assault against election integrity. Unlike radical Democrats we believe that our elections should be decided solely by American citizens.”

The RNC said it is joined in the suit by the Vermont Republican Party and several concerned Vermont voters.

In the spring the Vermont Legislature voted to allow the towns to amend their charters to allow non-citizens to vote, but Republican Gov. Phil Scott vetoed the legislation. The Legislature overrode the governor’s veto in late June.

Allowing non-citizens to vote is trending across the nation.  Nine Maryland cities allow it, as does the San Francisco Board of Education, according to the Pew Foundation, which said Washington D.C., Illinois and New York City are considering the practice.

Jack Tomczak, the national field director with Americans for Citizen Voting (ACV), says giving non-citizens voting rights sends the wrong message.

“What kind of message is this to those who have earned the right to vote by earning their citizenship?” Tomczak told the Green Mountain Times, for an earlier story.

Tomczak also said he is confident a statewide proposal would have been shot down by the voters. A nationwide poll by ACV shows 75% of voters believe only U.S. citizens should vote in elections.

Tomczak said those who support non-citizen voting sometimes argue that non-citizens are paying taxes without representation. Tomczak's point of view is that all Americans experience taxation without representation to some degree.

“Visiting another state and paying sales tax in that state doesn’t give you the right to vote in that state,” he said. “And a federal law passed in 1996 prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, yet many pay federal taxes.”