Noncitizen Voting Declared Unconstitutional in New York State

In a setback for a burgeoning national movement to boost electoral participation among immigrants, the New York City law allowing noncitizens to vote in municipal elections has been struck down as unconstitutional and illegal under state law. The state supreme court judge’s decision, which backers of the law vowed to appeal, raises questions about the viability of similar laws in at least three other states.The law would have allowed some 800,000 noncitizen residents of New York City to vote in citywide elections, a number that could have substantially affected election results. There are about 7 million eligible voters in New York City.Although Mayor Adams declined to sign the “Our City, Our Vote” bill, it became law on January 8. It was almost immediately met with a lawsuit at Staten Island brought by city, state, and national Republicans.Quoting from an earlier case, the judge ruled today that the law is “impermissible simply and solely for the reason that the Constitution says that it cannot be done.”Judge Ralph Porzio of Richmond County Supreme Court declared the law “void” and in violation of both state law and the state constitution.The City Council’s minority leader, Joseph Borelli, who was among the Republicans who brought the lawsuit, commended the decision Monday.“Today’s decision validates those of us who can read the plain English words of our state constitution and the state statutes: noncitizen voting in New York is illegal,” he said. “I commend the court in recognizing reality.”Staten Island’s Vito Fossella, the city’s only Republican borough president, applauded the court’s decision as a “victory for every citizen of our borough and city.”“Whether it was one million or one noncitizen who would have been granted the right to vote — it was wrong,” he said. “It would have diluted the votes of our own citizens.”Local proponents of the law marked the decision as a disappointment and accused Republicans of cherry-picking the court.“Republican opponents to the law specifically placed their lawsuit in a court they knew would be favorable to them,” the director of the New York Immigration Coalition, Murad Awawdeh, said.The mayor’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment.The Republican National Committee chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel, said the decision marked a victory for the GOP nationally. The party joined local officials in opposing the law in court.“Today’s ruling is a huge victory for election integrity and the rule of law: American elections should be decided by American citizens,” she said. “The RNC is proud to head a broad coalition in successfully challenging this unconstitutional scheme.”She added that the national party “will continue to lead the effort across the country to ensure only citizens can vote in America’s elections.”New York was set to join a number of other municipalities that allow noncitizens to vote in local elections, including San Francisco, at least 11 municipalities in Maryland, and two in Vermont.New York City’s law is the first in recent years to be struck down, though there are a number of open lawsuits surrounding noncitizen voting laws around the country.In Portland, Maine, the charter commission recommended “extending the right to vote in all municipal elections to all Portland residents.” The people of Portland will decide whether to adopt the measure in the November 8 general election, which will provide another test for the movement.The New York City law’s advocates say they will try to appeal the ruling. “We remain firm in our certitude that municipal voting is legal and plan to support the appeal of this judge’s decision,” Ms Awawdeh said. “We refuse to allow today’s verdict to further the disenfranchisement of Black and brown communities in New York City.”The city law department, which helped defend the law, is less enthusiastic about the prospects for appeal and has not yet publicly decided how it will be moving forward.“This is a disappointing court ruling for people who value bringing in thousands more New Yorkers into the democratic process,” a law department spokesman told the Sun. “We are evaluating next steps.”

Noncitizen Voting Declared Unconstitutional in New York State

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