The New York Supreme Court of Richmond County struck down New York City’s “Our City, Our Vote” bill allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections. It includes “those with green cards and Dreamers who have lived in New York City for at least 30 consecutive days.”
The bill gave 800,000 non-citizens the ability to vote.
Republican voters, officials, NY Republican State Committee, RNC, and one Democratic city council member challenged the bill.
The Court pointed to the New York Constitution:
Every citizen shall be entitled to vote at every election for all officers elected by the people and upon all questions submitted to the vote of the people provided that such citizen is eighteen years of age or over and shall have been a resident of this state and of the county, city, or village for thirty days next preceding an election.
The Court also reminded NYC that “the Municipal Home Law sets forth the powers of local governments to adopt and amend local laws in accordance with Article IX of the New York State Constitution.”
Article IX: Every local government except a county wholly included within a city shall have a legislative body elective the people thereof. Every local government shall have the power to adopt local laws provided by this article.
The Article defines people as, “Persons entitled to vote as provided in section one of article two of this constitution.”
Entitled to vote: “…eighteen years of age or over and shall have been a resident of this state and of the county, city, or village for thirty days next preceding an election.”
The New York state election law pretty much mirrors the state’s constitution: “No person shall be qualified to register for and vote at any election unless he is a citizen of the United States and is or will be, on the day of such election, eighteen years of age or over, and a resident of this state and of the county, city or village for a minimum of thirty days next preceding such election.”
You’re not your own state, NYC. You belong to New York state.
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