New York’s highest court is set to review a recently enacted city law permitting noncitizens to register to vote in elections specific to New York City.
According to Fox News, The court will hear arguments in this case on Tuesday, with legal representatives for the Democrats advocating for the legislation already approved by the city that allows noncitizen voting.
If the court rules in favor of this law, it would enable more than 800,000 noncitizens residing in New York City to participate in local elections, including mayoral contests.
Proponents argue that noncitizens face unfair taxation without representation, highlighting that in five City Council districts, approximately one-third of the adult population consists of non-U.S. citizens.
The city’s legal team stated in a filing, “These New Yorkers pay billions in taxes and yet have no say in local policies on public safety, garbage collection, or housing—all matters that affect their day-to-day lives.”
Conversely, city Republicans express strong opposition to the initiative, citing the state constitution’s language that grants voting rights solely to “every citizen.”
State Senator Andrew Lanza, a Republican from Staten Island, commented on the situation, stating, “It’s hard to discuss because it’s crazy it’s even an issue.
Citizens ought to vote; if you’re not a citizen of a country, you should not have a say.”
The New York state constitution asserts that “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.”
In a previous ruling, an appellate court supported the Republican stance, concluding in a 3-1 decision that noncitizens were intended to be excluded from voting rights.
