The law would have allowed roughly 800,000 green card holders and individuals with federal work authorization living in the Big Apple to vote in the city’s elections, including in mayoral and City Council elections. Democratic and Republican elected officials have been in a drawn-out legal battle over the law, and the court’s ruling Wednesday hands 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, associate justice of the Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department in New York, wrote in the Wednesday ruling. The court’s 3-1 ruling determined that the state’s constitution clause that reads “every citizen shall be entitled to vote” only referred to U.S. citizens.
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Progressive Democrats put their full support behind the law, dubbed by them as the “Our City, Our Vote” bill that they claim would make elections more inclusive for the city’s massive non-citizen and migrant population. Republicans largely opposed the law, claiming that it would create massive voter fraud and only serve to give Democrats a win by bolstering their base in elections.
“I won baby, I won,” Council Republican leader Joe Borelli said in an interview on Wednesday, according 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 organization that supported the law, expressed dismay at the ruling.
“The lawsuit remains another shameful attempt by xenophobic Republicans who would disenfranchise residents rather than promote a more inclusive and participatory democracy,” NYIC Executive Director Murad Awawdeh said 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.”
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The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
* Original Article:
https://dailycaller.com/2024/02/22/blue-city-law-allowing-non-citizens-to-vote-ruled-unconstitutional/
