House Republicans Want to Teach D.C. About Election Integrity. Seriously.

Published in The New Republic

Despite five decades of ostensible home rule, Congress has long intervened in the District of Columbia’s governance, using its constitutional right of jurisdiction over the nation’s capital to overturn decisions made by local officials. Federal lawmakers often use the district as a battlefield to wage political war on hot-button topics, such as abortion, marijuana, and crime. This week, congressional Republicans are turning to another red-meat issue for their base: election administration and voter fraud.

Since taking the majority in January, House GOPers have repeatedly targeted laws passed by the D.C. Council, often aided by Democrats. In March, President Joe Biden signed a bill preventing the implementation of a controversial law revising the district’s criminal code. He then vetoed a GOP bill in May attempting to block D.C.’s police accountability legislation, although the Republican effort received some Democratic votes in both chambers of Congress. On Wednesday, two House panels, the Oversight Committee and the House Administration Committee, will hold a joint hearing on “election integrity” in the district, seeking to impose new restrictions on how the city runs its elections.