Why Frederick City’s Non-Citizen Voting Policy Is Wrong

Robin Ficker | September 8, 2025

Tomorrow, Maryland’s second largest city, Frederick City, will hold primary elections that should reflect the will of the people who built, defended, and lawfully reside in this community. But instead of safeguarding the sacred right of citizenship, Frederick’s leaders have chosen to open the ballot box to non-citizens—including those who are here illegally.

That’s right: under Frederick City’s policy passed in 2024, without approval of the voters, non-citizens may vote in local elections. Tomorrow will be the first election with this new policy in place.

The city does not require proof of lawful U.S. presence, simply evidence of residency in Frederick City, no matter how temporary. This means that even those who crossed our borders illegally, without regard for our laws, can cast a ballot equal to yours.

This is not only wrong, but dangerous to the very concept of American self-government.

The right to vote is not just another government program to be handed out without qualification. It is the cornerstone of citizenship. Men and women have fought and died so that the voices of American citizens, and only American citizens, determine our laws and our leaders.

When Frederick City dilutes your vote by allowing non-citizens to participate, it undermines the principle that government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed. The governed are the citizens. If everyone who happens to be in the city—whether legally or illegally—gets the same ballot as you, then your voice as a citizen is diminished.

What makes Frederick’s policy even worse is that there are no meaningful protections against voter fraud. No proof of legal U.S. presence is required. There is no mechanism to ensure that someone who just arrived in this country yesterday cannot show up at the polls tomorrow.

The system is ripe for abuse, and city officials know it. Yet they have deliberately chosen to leave the door wide open. That should alarm every citizen of Frederick who values election integrity.

This policy sends the wrong message: that breaking the law is no barrier to political power. If illegal immigrants can vote in Frederick’s elections today, what is to stop other cities, and eventually the state or federal government, from following suit tomorrow?

This is not about being anti-immigrant. In fact, it is Frederick’s policy that is anti-immigrant, as it disrespects every single immigrant who follows the rules and goes through the naturalization process in order to earn the right to vote. This policy spits in the face of that proud tradition by simply handing the ballot to those who have ignored our laws and broken into our country. It may even disincentivize citizenship altogether. At the very least, it is an insult to every immigrant who respects the rules and it cheapens the very idea of citizenship. Frederick residents deserve better.

Tomorrow’s election is about more than who wins a mayoral nomination. It’s about whether citizens of Frederick will stand up and say enough is enough. Will we tolerate a system that allows our voices to be diluted by those who are not even here legally? Or will we demand accountability and insist that the right to vote remain the privilege of citizens alone?

I urge every Frederick citizen to make your voice heard about this issue. Let the city know that we will not stand by while our most sacred right is handed out carelessly.

Across the country, we see constant debates about election integrity, but Frederick City has taken things to an even more radical level. By allowing non-citizens, including illegal immigrants, to vote, they are telling you, the lawful citizen, that your voice is no more important than the voice of someone who broke our laws to get here.

That is unacceptable.

Voting is not just a right. It is a responsibility. It is the way we protect our families, our communities, and our freedoms. When that responsibility is extended to those who have not earned it, those who have not pledged allegiance to this country, those who may not even intend to stay here long-term, it puts our entire system at risk.

Frederick’s policy is a test case. If it goes unchallenged in Maryland’s second largest city, other cities will follow. Before long, Marylanders may find themselves surrounded by jurisdictions where the voices of citizens are drowned out by those who have no legal right to be here, let alone a right to vote.

We cannot let that happen.

Not a single elected Democrat in Maryland is talking about this, not even Congresswoman April McClain Delaney. When I am your Congressman, I will fight to restore integrity to our elections. And I will fight to ensure that the voices of citizens—the men and women who have earned the right to be called Americans—are never diminished.

The right to vote is too important to give away. Let’s protect it, together.

Robin Ficker is the conservative candidate for Congress in Maryland’s Sixth Congressional District. Learn more at VoteFicker.com.

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