New York’s highest judicial body has issued a final ruling blocking the efforts of state Democrats to extend voting privileges to nearly one million foreign nationals.
In January 2022, members of the New York City Council, dominated by Democrats, passed a law that would allow over 800,000 foreign nationals—those holding green cards, visas, and work permits—to participate in local elections, provided they had lived in the city for at least 30 consecutive days.
After lawsuits were filed over the measure, the New York Supreme Court ruled in June 2022 that granting local voting rights to foreign nationals breached the state constitution, which clearly states that only American “citizens” are eligible to vote.
The decision was reaffirmed in February by the New York Appellate Division.
On Thursday, the Court of Appeals for the state of New York declared the ordinance unconstitutional, emphasizing that the state constitution “makes clear what our case law has long held: Article II, section 1 restricts voting to citizens.”
The court further explained, “Article II, section 1 has been amended several times since 1894, but the citizenship requirement has persisted. There is no evidence that any of the amendments changed the understanding that a voter must be a citizen to vote in New York.”
The court concluded, “Whatever the future may bring, the New York Constitution as it stands today draws a firm line restricting voting to citizens. Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division insofar as appealed from should be modified, without costs, in accordance with this opinion and, as so modified, affirmed.” [Emphasis added]
“This is a major victory for election integrity and the rule of law,” said Robert Holden, a New York City Councilman from Queens and a plaintiff in the case. “The Constitution is clear: Noncitizens do not have the right to vote, and this reckless scheme undermined the value of American citizenship.”
As reported by Breitbart News, the ordinance would have had a significant impact on local elections, potentially weakening the votes of American citizens living in the city. For example, in 2021, Mayor Eric Adams (D) won the Democratic primary by fewer than 7,200 votes.
Rev. Ruben Diaz, a former councilman from the Bronx, warned that the measure would diminish the power of citizens’ votes while shifting political influence to foreign nationals with connections to the United Nations, Wall Street, and the global financial network, all of which have a strong presence in New York City.
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