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State appeals court strikes down New York City’s noncitizen voting rights ban as unconstitutional

New York CityWill be approved in 2022green cardis the owner of the holdervoteHowever, two years later the law has not yet come into effect; The New York State Court of Appeals ruled on the 21st that this law allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections is unconstitutional.

Judge Paul Wooten, Second Division of the Appellate Division of the state Superior Court, said the law should be invalid because it violates the New York State Constitution and municipal home rule law. The appeals court ruled 3-1. The clause in the state constitution agreeing that “Every citizen has the right to vote…” refers only to U.S. citizens; The court also ruled that under the Municipal Home Rule Act, any election changes must be decided by a vote of the voters, not by local legislative bodies making the decision.

A state appeals court has ruled that New York City’s law allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections is unconstitutional. According to statistics, if the law is formally implemented, there will be approximately 800,000 new eligible voters. (Photo from the archive of this newspaper)

In 2022, New York City passed a law allowing green card holders to vote, allowing green card holders and others with federal work authorization in New York City to vote in local elections, including mayor and city council . According to statistics, if the law officially goes into effect, there would be about 800,000 new eligible voters out of the 8.5 million people of New York City.

The bill, also known as “Our City, Our Vote”, has been strongly promoted by progressive Democrats. Democrats say the bill makes New York City politics more representative of public opinion and more inclusive of immigrants; Opponents, primarily Republicans, believe the bill promotes voter fraud and say, “Democrats only want to increase their voter turnout.” The Adams administration said it defended the law and would appeal the decision.

The right to vote is rare for non-citizens in the United States, but the movement for legalization continues. Washington once broke the Republican siege and allowed non-citizens to vote, but he also faced many obstacles in the courts. In 2023, a San Francisco court passed a bill allowing certain groups of non-citizens to exercise their right to vote in school board elections. Recently, three cities in Vermont have also begun allowing legal alien residents to run in local elections.


New York City's non-citizen voting rights law has been ruled unconstitutional by a state appeals court, and non-citizen voting rights remain relatively rare in the United States.  (American League...
New York City’s non-citizen voting rights law has been ruled unconstitutional by a state appeals court, and non-citizen voting rights remain relatively rare in the United States. (associated Press)

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