The Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit Thursday in Vermont challenging Burlington’s policy of allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections dealing with education.

RNC officials joined with local residents in the lawsuit, saying it’s an attempt to push back against a growing tide of jurisdictions allowing noncitizens — including, in some cases, illegal immigrants — to cast ballots.

“Americans should decide American elections,” said RNC Chairman Michael Whatley.

Burlington’s policy only allows voting in local elections and ballot questions, but the RNC’s lawsuit says that includes the education budget, which implicates how state money is spent.

That, the RNC says, means noncitizen voting violates the state’s constitution, which says only citizens can vote on “any matter that concerns the State of Vermont.”

Burlington, the largest city in Vermont, is the third jurisdiction in the state to adopt noncitizen voting.

Two smaller cities, Winooski and the state capital of Montpelier, have allowed noncitizen voting for several years.

The state’s Supreme Court has already upheld those policies as valid, rejecting the argument that all local elections now implicate state matters.

“There is still a difference between municipal government and state government,” the state justices concluded.

The new lawsuit against Burlington covers much of the same ground.

The RNC and the residents focused their arguments specifically on noncitizens voting on Burlington’s education budget. Because state money is at stake, they say, that means noncitizens are weighing in on state matters.

They said that dilutes the votes of citizens.

Noncitizen voting has become a deep dividing line in American politics.

The practice is illegal in federal elections, and no state currently allows it for statewide elections, though Washington, D.C. — a federal district that is often compared to a state — does allow it for all district matters.

Washington’s policy is vast, allowing anyone who’s lived in the city for at least 30 days — including illegal immigrants and employees of foreign governments — to register and cast ballots.

The District says it has the tools to make sure those noncitizens only vote in local affairs and don’t cast ballots in federal elections.

San Francisco allows noncitizens with children in the school system to vote on school matters.

New York City attempted to allow noncitizen voting in local elections, but a state court ruled that illegal.

• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.