Court strikes down NYC law allowing non-citizens to vote

FPI / June 29, 2022

A New York City law allowing non-citizen residents to vote in municipal elections was struck down by the state Supreme Court on Monday.

The non-citizen population in New York City is estimated to be somewhere between 800,000 and 1 million.

The law, passed in December 2021 by the New York City Council, created a class of voters called "municipal voters," comprised of non-citizens who reside in the city for at least 30 days before an election and register or pre-register to vote. Under the law, municipal voters were granted the right to participate in elections for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president, and council member.

"The New York State Constitution explicitly lays the foundation for ascertaining that only proper citizens retain the right to voter privileges," New York Supreme Court Judge Ralph Porzio said in the court's 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."

The Republican National Committee and New York Republican State Committee joined a group of officeholders and individual voters who sued city officials over the law, arguing that it violates the New York State Constitution, state election law, and the Municipal Home Rule Law.

Upon examining Articles II and IX of the State Constitution, Judge Porzio added that "it is clear to this Court that voting is a right granted to citizens of the United States," and thus the city law granting the right to non-citizens violates the constitution.

Porzio also cited New York Election Law section 5-102(1), which states: "No person shall be qualified to register for and vote at any election unless he is a citizen of the United States." He also found the city law to be in violation of the Municipal Home Rule Law, which states that local governments can adopt their own laws so far as they are "not inconsistent with" the state constitution or other laws "relating to its property, affairs of government[.]"

"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, granting a declaratory judgment stating that the city law is void, as well as an injunction prohibiting city officials from registering non-citizens to vote.

The bill first became law automatically after former Mayor Bill de Blasio and current Mayor Eric Adams both declined to either sign or veto it.

Free Press International