New York City Cannot Allow Noncitizens to Vote

A New York City legislation that may permit noncitizens to vote in native elections was deemed unconstitutional by a state appeals court docket on Wednesday.

The legislation would have allowed roughly 800,000 inexperienced card holders and people with federal work authorization dwelling in the Big Apple to vote within the metropolis’s elections, together with in mayoral and City Council elections. Democratic and Republican elected officers have been in a drawn-out authorized battle over the legislation, and the court docket’s ruling Wednesday palms Democrats a defeat.

“We determine that this local law was enacted in violation of the New York State Constitution and Municipal Home Rule Law, and thus, must be declared null and void,” Paul Wooten, affiliate justice of the Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department in New York, wrote within the Wednesday ruling. The court docket’s 3-1 ruling decided that the state’s structure clause that reads “every citizen shall be entitled to vote” solely referred to U.S. residents.

Great information! We gained within the appellate court docket and @NYCMayor’s try to implement the legislation to register noncitizens to vote in #NYC elections has been struck down. This is a giant victory in preserving each the integrity of our elections & the voice of American residents!

— Nicole Malliotakis (@NMalliotakis) February 21, 2024

The legislation was first launched in January 2022 however didn’t go into impact amid a collection of authorized challenges. Several Republican officers sued instantly after it was launched and a decrease court docket subsequently dominated in opposition to it months later; Democratic Mayor Eric Adams and his administration had backed the legislation and sought an attraction, however that was struck down by the state court docket on Wednesday.

Progressive Democrats put their full support behind the legislation, dubbed by them because the “Our City, Our Vote” invoice that they declare would make elections extra inclusive for town’s large noncitizen and migrant inhabitants. Republicans largely opposed the legislation, claiming that it might create large voter fraud and solely serve to give Democrats a win by bolstering their base in elections.

“I won baby, I won,” Council Republican chief Joe Borelli mentioned in an interview on Wednesday, in accordance to Politico. “This was an easy case. All they had to do was read the state constitution and municipal law. The criticism falls on the proponents of the bill.”

The New York Immigration Coalition, a progressive group that supported the legislation, expressed dismay on the ruling.

“The lawsuit remains another shameful attempt by xenophobic Republicans who would disenfranchise residents rather than promote a more inclusive and participatory democracy,” Murad Awawdeh, govt director of the New York Immigration Coalition, mentioned in a statement on Wednesday. “Immigrant New Yorkers deserve a say in how their local government functions and spends their tax money, and we remain committed to ensuring the expansion of voting rights.”

Noncitizen voting will not be a widespread phenomenon within the U.S., though some areas are pushing for it. Washington, D.C., overcame hurdles and handed such a legislation in 2022, although it at the moment faces authorized opposition; the state of Arizona has a clause in its Election Procedures Manual that might allow noncitizens to vote in federal elections.

Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation

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