Media NYC’s non-citizen voting law ruled unconstitutional on appeal

Championed by progressive Democrats, supporters said the “Our City, Our Vote” bill would make politics more representative, and the city more inclusive for immigrants. Opponents — mostly Republicans — said it would turn into a logistical nightmare leading to voter fraud, and that Democrats only wanted to shore up their numbers.

“I won baby, I won,” Council Republican leader Joe Borelli said in an interview from Israel, where he is on a study tour with fellow New York lawmakers. “This was an easy case. All they had to do was read the state constitution and municipal law. The criticism falls on the proponents of the bill.”

Borelli was one of the plaintiffs who sued as soon as the bill became law in Jan. 2022. Fellow Staten Island Republicans Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and Borough President Vito Fossella joined him, among others.

A Staten Island lower court judge struck it down months later.

“This is why they picked the Staten Island jurisdiction for the lawsuit,” election lawyer Sarah Steiner said in an interview, referring to the politically conservative leanings of the borough. “It was a more likely place to get the underlying decision.”

In a 3-1 ruling, the appellate court agreed that the clause in the state constitution that “every citizen shall be entitled to vote…” refers exclusively to United States citizens. And the court ruled that a provision of state Municipal Home Rule Law requires changes to elections to be passed by voter referendum, rather than a local legislature.

The New York Immigration Coalition, which supports non-citizen voting, decried the ruling.

“While we are still reviewing the decision and its impact on immigrant New Yorkers, the lawsuit remains another shameful attempt by xenophobic Republicans who would disenfranchise residents rather than promote a more inclusive and participatory democracy,” NYIC Executive Director Murad Awawdeh said in a statement. “Immigrant New Yorkers deserve a say in how their local government functions and spends their tax money, and we remain committed to ensuring the expansion of voting rights.”

Non-citizen voting is still extremely rare in the United States, but there is a growing movement to legalize it.

Washington, D.C., overcame opposition from congressional Republicans to allow non-citizens to vote, but the city’s law has been challenged in court. A San Francisco court upheld a law in 2023 allowing certain non-citizens to vote in school board elections. And three Vermont cities, including Burlington, recently allowed legal residents to vote in local elections.