New York’s Supreme Court to rule on noncitizens voting in NYC elections

• New York’s Supreme Court will decide if noncitizens can vote in NYC municipal elections. The case stems from a 2022 law passed by the city’s Democrat-led City Council, granting voting rights to documented noncitizens.
• Republicans challenged the law, with a state appeals court ruling it violated the state constitution.
• Supporters argue noncitizens contribute significantly to the city’s economy and should have a say in local policies.

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New York’s Supreme Court will decide whether noncitizens can vote in New York City’s municipal elections. The state’s top court heard oral arguments Tuesday, Feb. 11, regarding a law approved by the city’s Democrat-led City Council in 2022, which would have granted voting rights to documented noncitizens living there.

The law would have allowed about 800,000 individuals to vote in city elections, excluding presidential, state and congressional elections.

Individuals would need to be Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, green card holders, or authorized to work in the U.S. as long as they’ve been New York City residents for at least 30 days.

Republicans challenged the law, and a trial judge sided with them. Last year, a state appeals court ruled that the law violated the state constitution.

“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,” State Sen. Andrew Lanza, R-Staten Island, told Politico.

On the other side, supporters of the law argue that noncitizen voters make up a third of New York City’s voting population. They say noncitizens should have a say in the city’s future.

According to Politico, attorneys for the city’s lawmaking body wrote in a legal 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.”

Tuesday’s arguments focused mainly on interpreting constitutional language and defining terms like “citizen,” The Associated Press reports.

In 2022, the District of Columbia Council passed a bill allowing noncitizen voting, followed by Burlington, Vermont, in 2023. In the same year, a proposal in Illinois would have granted noncitizens in Chicago voting rights. However, it failed to get a hearing.