City Council

New York City Council appeals decision to strike down non-citizen voting law

2022 legislation granting municipal voting rights to green card and authorization holders had been ruled unconstitutional.

By EMILY NGO

The New York City Council filed a notice of appeal Monday to the state’s highest court in support of a 2022 law it passed granting municipal voting privileges to non-citizens with green cards or work authorizations.

“Empowering New Yorkers to participate in our local democratic process can only strengthen New York City by increasing civic engagement,” council spokesperson Rendy Desamours said in a statement, adding that the legislative body finds the law consistent with the state constitution, election law and municipal home rule.

The legislation was ruled unconstitutional one month ago by the Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department in New York.

It had sought to allow an estimated 800,000 eligible non-citizens to cast ballots in city elections including those for mayor and City Council. But Local Law 11 of 2022 had been challenged by a coalition of right-leaning elected officials, including Staten Island Republicans Vito Fossella, Joe Borelli and Nicole Malliotakis. They argue the right to vote is sacred to U.S. citizens and the legislation is unconstitutional.

Mayor Eric Adams’ administration had been defending the law and appealed a lower court’s ruling against it, but representatives did not immediately respond to questions Monday on whether its attorneys would appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals.

As the deadline to appeal arrived on Monday, the New York Immigration Coalition and its allies chanted “our city, our vote” during a rally outside City Hall.

“So many of our residents have been paying taxes, have been contributing to this community and yet they have no say. That ain’t right,” said the council’s immigration committee chair, Brooklyn Democrat Alexa Avilés. “Granting voting rights to someone does not take someone else’s voting rights away. We are making the pie larger.”

LatinoJustice, a national civil rights organization, had filed its notice of appeal on Friday.

Malliotakis, a member of Congress, had slammed the step, saying in a statement, “There is nothing more important than preserving the integrity of our election system and this unconstitutional law that has been struck down in two consecutive wins only diminished the voices of our citizenry.”