(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) A controversial New York City law that would have given 800,000 plus noncitizens the ability to vote in municipal elections—thereby sowing confusion for concurrent state and federal elections and undermining election integrity in the nation’s largest city—was struck down Wednesday by a New York state appeals court, the New York Post reported.
“There is nothing more important than preserving the integrity of our election system, and in today’s age, the government should be working to create more trust in our elections, not less,” said U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., celebrating the announcement.
“The right to vote is a sacred right given only to United States citizens,” she added. “It is my hope that left-wing lawmakers stop pushing these unconstitutional and reckless measures that dilute the voices of American citizens.”
Appellate Judge Paul Wooten wrote the majority opinion for the court, which sided against the “Our City, Our Vote” law in a 3-1 decision.
He said that the law, which would enfranchise some 800,000 noncitizens who are legally residing in the Big Apple, violated the state’s constitution by allowing foreigners to partake in American government.
“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,” Wooten argued.
Specifically, he suggested that it ignored voter-eligibility requirements by allowing noncitizens to vote.
“Article IX provides that the elected officials of ‘local governments’ shall be elected by ‘the people,’ which incorporates by reference the eligibility requirements for voting under article II, section 1, applying exclusively to ‘citizens,’” he added.
If foreigners were permitted to vote, the court argued further, then there would be no reason that foreigners could not also hold public office.
Despite the airtight, common-sense argument, Judge Lilian Wan issued a dissenting opinion, arguing that restricting voting rights to citizens undermined “the persons who are entitled to a voice in the local electoral process.”
Wan also claimed that the move “disenfranchises” almost a million foreigners living in the city.
“Every voter who’s able to turn out is good for our democracy,” claimed Nora Moran, the director of policy and advocacy at United Neighborhood Houses—a progressive nonprofit group that supported the bill—when the measure was first introduced.
The appeals court upheld a prior ruling issued by the Staten Island Supreme Court.
In June 2022, Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio declared that “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.”
The law may still stand a shot at being revived by an en banc appellate review or a review by the state supreme court, which is notoriously left-leaning, as the recent trials against former President Donald Trump have revealed to the public at large.
A spokesman for the city’s Law Department said they were “reviewing the court’s decision and evaluating next steps.”
