New York’s top court strikes down law allowing non-citizens to vote

The New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, blocked a law on Thursday allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections. 

A former New York City Council member responded to the ruling by saying it should have been an “open and shut case” and that the law was “embarrassing.”

In a court filing by New York City attorneys, the city said that non-U.S. citizens make up about a third of the adult population in the city. 

The near unanimous, 6-1, decision blocks a law passed in 2021 by New York City’s majority Democratic city council that would have made nearly 1 million non-citizens eligible to vote in municipal elections, including for mayor and city council.

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Those arguing in favor of the law claimed that a provision in the New York constitution on the qualifications of voters only guaranteed the right of citizens over 18 to vote while not denying that right to non-citizens. 

Chief Judge Rowan Wilson wrote in the decision that the New York state constitution clearly articulates that only citizens are eligible to vote. 

Wilson wrote that under the appellants’ logic, municipalities would be “free to enact legislation that would enable anyone to vote—including … thirteen-year-old children.” 

“The New York Constitution as it stands today draws a firm line restricting voting to citizens,” he said. “It is plain from the language and restrictions contained in that ‘citizen’ is not meant as a floor, but as a condition of voter eligibility: the franchise extends only to citizens whose right to vote is established by proper proofs.”  

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Joe Borelli, one of the plaintiffs in the case and a former New York City councilman who voted against the law, told Fox News Digital that “the state constitution and statutes are plainly written and in clear language.” 

“This has always been an open and shut case, and it’s embarrassing that the city council fought so hard to skirt the law, undermine the constitution, and weaken the votes of citizens,” he said. 

The ruling upholds an earlier decision by a lower court invalidating the law. Associate Judge Jenny Rivera was the only member of the court to dissent.