The New York City Council is slated to pass a bill on Thursday that would allow some 800,000 immigrant green card holders to vote in local elections, making the Big Apple the largest jurisdiction in the country in extend that right to non-citizens.
The House is expected to give the green light to the bill promoted by Councilmember Ydanis Rodríguez (D-Manhattan), since a large majority of the Council members, mostly Democrats, are registered as co-sponsors of the proposal.
Called “Intro 1867,” the measure would allow non-citizen permanent residents (most of whom are green card holders) and some work visa recipients to register with a political party and vote for mayor, councilors, comptroller and others. municipal government offices. A person must have been a legal resident for at least 30 days to vote, and the right will not extend to elections for president, governor, Congress, or other state and federal offices.
Although it is expected to pass with ease in Council, the bill does not have the backing of the Republican minority voice in the House, whose members argue that it would be illegal to allow non-citizens to vote, diluting the importance of citizenship. , they argue.
Republicans say they will sue to overturn the bill if it passes, under a section of the state Constitution that says “all citizens” have the right to vote.
“If they want to vote here, they should go through the process of becoming citizens because that is how it shows a real commitment to being a part of this city and this country,” said Staten Island Councilman Joe Borelli, Republican Minority Leader. .
“The stakes are high, the problems we face in this city are too great for us to assign the most essential right of American citizenship to someone who has only lived here for 30 days.”)
Rodríguez, who is originally from the Dominican Republic and was unable to vote until he became a citizen in 2000, rejected Borelli’s claims and said that council attorneys thoroughly examined the bill before it was introduced.
“This is the same group of people who have been supporters of Donald Trump, who have never been on the side of immigrants. They are the same people who would support legislation like those in the southern states, which limit voting rights, ”said Rodríguez. “This bill will pass, and instead of diluting anything, it will strengthen our democracy.”
The Big Apple won’t be the first in the country to allow non-citizen voting (only 11 cities in Maryland allow it), but it will become by far the largest city with the distinction.
Thursday’s vote comes after Republican-led legislatures in some states, including Florida, passed bills last year that prohibit the enactment of any laws that allow non-citizens to vote.
Although support for Rodríguez’s bill is nearly universal among local Democrats, some have expressed concern that he may run into legal trouble due to the constitutional issue raised by Republicans.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who leaves office Jan. 1, is among those skeptics, though he has said he will pass the bill still.
“It’s certainly not something that I intend to veto, but it’s also not something that I’m sure is the right way to do it,” De Blasio told NY1 during a recent interview.
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