NYC set to approve measure allowing some noncitizens to vote in local elections
Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, the prime sponsor of the legislation and an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, told CNN the bill is about championing the issue of “no taxation without representation.”
“If they pay their taxes, they should be able to elect their leaders,” said Rodriguez, who added that his own background as a green card holder from 1983 to 2000 has inspired his push for passage of the bill.
The bill would expand voting rights to nearly 800,000 residents, according to Rodriguez’s office. If passed, it would take effect on January 1, 2022, and make New York the largest jurisdiction to expand voting rights to noncitizens.
Anu Joshi, vice president of policy at New York Immigrant Coalition, said the issue is about letting all city residents participate in the democratic process.
“This is set to be a transformative piece of legislation that will really ensure that all New Yorkers — noncitizen New Yorkers who live here, who are raising children here, who shop in our stores, who own small businesses — the opportunity to have a say, in our democracy. We think that we all will be better off when people who are invested in this city are able to participate in our democracy,” Joshi said.
The bill is expected to pass with a veto-proof supermajority of 35 of 51 council members in support.
Critics of the legislation include Bronx Councilman Ruben Diaz, a Democrat, who has called the legislation “dangerous and misguided.”
“I fully support our immigrant community, but I also respect our laws and cherish my privilege as an American citizen to vote,” Ruben said in a statement on Monday.
Questions over logistics
The new legislation will task the city board of elections with creating a new municipal voter registration form, implementing staff trainings and notifying individuals of their new voting rights.
Additionally, election officials will need to make “separate municipal-only ballot for municipal voters” if a city election includes federal questions or elections, according to Joshi.
“So the Board of Elections will have ample time resources and support to ensure a successful implementation of this legislation. And we are prepared to hold them accountable to implementing the vote legislation fairly in time for the next New York City election in 2023,” Joshi told CNN.
Republicans raise legal concerns
“If they [noncitizens] want to vote here, they should go through the process of becoming citizens, because that is how you show a real commitment to being a part of this city and this country. The stakes are too high, the problems we face in this city are too big, for us to give away the most quintessential right of American citizenship to someone who has only lived here for 30 days,” said Council Minority Leader Borelli at the press conference last Friday.
Richard Pildes, professor of constitutional law at New York University, told CNN that the bill falls within the city’s right to determine who can vote in local elections.
“As a constitutional or legal matter, it’s as long as they are bona fide residents of the city, it doesn’t violate the US Constitution to do it,” said Pildes, who also noted that there is historical precedent for the issue.
Some critics of the legislation argue it could discourage individuals from seeking citizenship.
The mayor has said he won’t veto the bill. Regardless, there is expected to be a veto-proof majority of 34 lawmakers including support from the Speaker of the Council.
Handful of jurisdictions already allow noncitizen voting
By 1804, the state required citizenship to vote and nearly twenty years later, according to the report, state law defined citizenship loosely as American citizenship.
Today, a handful of jurisdictions in the US allow noncitizens to vote
Nine Maryland cities allow noncitizens to vote in local or school board elections including Takoma Park just outside of Washington, DC. Since 1993, legal residents have been able to vote in mayor and city council elections, according to Takoma Park Clerk Jessie Carpenter.
“We pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive city and allowing all our residents to vote is an important part of that,” Carpenter said to CNN.
San Francisco has allowed for noncitizens to vote in school board elections since voters passed a charter amendment in 2016. Noncitizens there were first able to vote in 2018, according John Arntz, the city’s Elections Director. He said there hasn’t been any issues with legal permanent residents voting with a handful of individuals participating.
“My specific bill is part of a larger conversation around the push to ensure that people have a say so that people have a chance to be able to have their voices heard in their children’s education, because school board leaders have a direct impact on that,” Illinois Sen. Celina Villanueva told CNN. The Democrat introduced legislation this year that would allow for noncitizens to vote in school board elections.
