On Wednesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., alleged that there is underlying racism in the push by the GOP to take all voting rights away from non-citizens in Washington, D.C.
House lawmakers have been debating a resolution that would put an end to the D.C. Council law that has so far allowed non-citizens and illegal immigrants to participate in votes in the city. Many Democrats argued while on the floor that the GOP was trying to find ways to micromanage the city. On the other hand, Ocasio-Cortez suggested that the GOP’s plan is targeting minorities.
She added that while Republicans claim to believe “in the sacred right to vote” they were focusing on a plan that would deny that right from many in the “overwhelmingly Black city.” She continued that this was an attempt by the GOP to “meddle into the business of D.C. residents.”
Ocasio-Cortez also pointed out that across the nation there are many cities that have always allowed non-citizens to vote and yet the Republican legislation was only focused on Washington, D.C. She then proceeded to call this decision of only targeting Washington a move that is “expanding in the history of disenfranchisement that goes all the way back to the legacy of slavery.”
This is not the first time that Ocasio-Cortez has expressed outrage toward Republican lawmakers. Last week, she called out Republicans for their vote which resulted in Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., being taken off the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
