Elections

Republican lawmakers request hearings to examine violence against Trump supporters in D.C.

Published

1 year ago

November 19, 2020

Staff Writer

After chaos and violence erupted in Washington D.C. last weekend following the “Million MAGA March,” Republicans on Capitol Hill are demanding hearings to examine the violence against Trump supporters, FoxNews reports.

House Oversight Committee Ranking Member James Comer, Rep. Jody Hice and Rep. Chip Roy wrote a letter to Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney regarding the lack of action taken by the city’s leaders amid the violence last weekend.

“We respectfully request a hearing on the violence directed at supporters of President Trump on November 14, 2020. These supporters were exercising their First Amendment right to peacefully assemble within the District of Columbia,” they wrote to Maloney. “The failure of the city’s leaders to afford basic protections to persons who may hold different political viewpoints from their own appears to be another concerning example of viewpoint discrimination in the District.”

The Republican members wrote a separate letter to D.C. Mayor, Muriel Bowser, requesting information on how her office plans to work with city police to “ensure the safety of those who seek to peacefully exercise First Amendment rights within the District.”

“These brazen attacks are part of a continuing trend against leftist agitators perpetrating acts of violence against individuals in the District under your watch,” they wrote. “The right to peacefully assemble in our nation’s capital under the First Amendment is paramount. This is true regardless of who is doing the protesting or the popularity or unpopularity of their cause.”

The lawmakers criticized Bowser for her “silence” following the violence against Trump supporters. It “suggests you apply these principles only for those who share your same political opinions,” they wrote.

Trump also condemned Bowser on Twitter, claiming she was not “doing her job,” and urged the city’s police force to “get going – do your job and don’t hold back!!”

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1327834542707793921

Elections

New York City Dems Push Law to Allow 800,000 Non-Citizens to Vote in Municipal Elections

The New York City Council will vote on December 9 on a law to allow green-card holders and residents with work permits to vote in municipal elections

Published

5 hours ago

November 28, 2021

Staff Writer

New York’s Democratic party is battling over the constitutionality of voter laws. On December 9, the New York City Council will vote on a law to allow green-card holders and residents with work permits to vote in municipal elections.

“Around 808,000 New York City residents who have work permits or are lawful permanent residents would be eligible to vote under the legislation, which has the support of 34 of 51 council members, a veto-proof majority” reports Fox News.

“It’s important for the Democratic Party to look at New York City and see that when voting rights are being attacked, we are expanding voter participation,” Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, a sponsor of the bill and Democrat who represents the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, told the New York Times. Rodriguez immigrated from the Dominican Republic and became a U.S. citizen in 2000.

Fox News reports:

Laura Wood, Chief Democracy Officer for the mayor’s office, said at a hearing on the bill in September that the law could violate the New York State Constitution, which states that voters must be U.S. citizens age 18 or older.

Mayor Bill de Blasio indicated he could veto the bill following the September hearing.
“We’ve done everything that we could possibly get our hands on to help immigrant New Yorkers—including undocumented folks—but…I don’t believe it is legal,” de Blasio told WNYC radio at the time.

Mayor-elect Eric Adams, however, submitted testimony to the September hearing in favor of the bill. “In a democracy, nothing is more fundamental than the right to vote and to say who represents you and your community in elected office…Currently, almost one million New Yorkers are denied this foundational right.”

The legislation was first introduced two years ago, but had not yet gained traction due to the legal concerns.