Politics
NEW: Blue State Considers Law That Would Allow Noncitizens To Vote
New York City is asking the state’s highest court to reverse a ruling against a law that would allow noncitizens to vote in New York City municipal elections. The court previously struck down the NYC City Council’s “Our City, Our Vote” bill, which would have allowed noncitizens to vote, in 2022.
The bill gave noncitizens who are either legally authorized to work in the country or have legal permanent residence status the right to vote in municipal elections. About 800,000 noncitizen New York residents would be eligible to vote if the ban were reversed, as eligible voters would only need to establish that they have working papers and have lived in the city for at least a month.
A group of GOP lawmakers filed a suit in Staten Island Supreme Court to block the measure soon after it passed, however. The Republican National Committee and New York Republican State Committee soon joined the group of officeholders and individual voters who sued the city.
They argued that the measure violates the New York State Constitution, state election law, and the Municipal Home Rule Law. An appeals court ultimately agreed with them. “The New York State Constitution explicitly lays the foundation for ascertaining that only proper citizens retain the right to voter privileges,” Richmond County Supreme Court Judge Ralph Porzio said in the court’s 2022 ruling.
“It is this Court’s belief that by not expressly including non-citizens in the New York State Constitution, it was the intent of the framers for non-citizens to be omitted.”
Former New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio questioned whether the bill was viable under state law
Photo: Gage Skidmore
The bill became law automatically after both Mayors Bill DeBlasio and Eric Adams declined to either sign or veto it. DeBlasio questioned the legality of the measure and worried that non-citizen NYC residents would become less likely to obtain citizenship.
“There is no statutory ability for the City of New York to issue inconsistent laws permitting non-citizens to vote and exceed the authority granted to it by the New York State Constitution,” Porzio concluded in the court’s opinion, declaring the law void.
A mid-level state appeals court further ruled that that the law violated the state constitution and a legal requirement to hold a public referendum on the proposal because it changed an election method in 2023.
The city council then appealed to the state Court of Appeals, arguing that the legislation did not violate the state constitution. “It engaged in a core act of self-governance and the exercise of its home rule powers. This court should hold that the constitution permits the city to make that choice,” attorney Claude Platton said.
On Tuesday, arguments focused largely on how to interpret specific constitutional language and how to define words like “citizen,” according to a report from the Associated Press. Judge Jenny Rivera noted the law could have an big impact if implemented, saying it would “expand the franchise to a very large number of individuals.”
A decision from the state’s highest court is expected in the coming months.
Since New York City became the first municipality to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections, several additional towns and cities have done the same. In total, 11 towns in Maryland and two in Vermont have passed similar legislation.
