Almost Anybody Can Now Vote in New York Democrats on the City Council give 800,000 noncitizens the franchise, as others dissent.
The New York City Council approved a bill last week to let about 800,000 noncitizens vote in local elections, and Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he won’t veto it. The measure passed 33-14, over some strong dissents, including from Democrats.
“It’s unconstitutional under state law. It’s very clear,” said Councilman Kalman Yeger, a Brooklyn Democrat, during Thursday’s debate. That was seconded by Councilman James Gennaro, a Queens Democrat. “I and everyone in this body took an oath—an oath!—to uphold the constitution of the state of New York.”
New York’s constitution guarantees citizens the right to vote, “provided that such citizen is eighteen years of age” and has been a resident for 30 days. The progressive argument is that this language doesn’t explicitly exclude noncitizens, so New York City can grant them the franchise.
But think what else this implies. The constitution only specifically says that a “citizen” must be 18 to vote. So could the city expand local elections to 12-year-old noncitizens? Ditto for the constitution’s 30-day residency rule. Could the city let noncitizens cross the Hudson River declare residency, and vote the next day? As legal analysis, this isn’t what New York’s constitution means.
The city’s bill at least requires 30-day residency by noncitizen voters. But Councilman Mark Gjonaj, a Bronx Democrat, said that would cover “a transient,” who’s “coming in for the duration of that job or that project and going back to their home country.” He warned it would make New York “vulnerable to outside influence,” including from Russia, suggesting a one-year residency requirement instead.
Because noncitizens can’t participate in federal or state races, a practical problem is that the city’s Board of Elections, which is legendary for ineptitude, would have to manage a second voting list and set of ballots. What about people who don’t speak the basic English required by the citizenship test? Councilman Mark Treyger, a Brooklyn Democrat who abstained on the bill, said he once asked for a law requiring interpreters at polling sites, and “I was told that we didn’t have the authority.”
Green-card holders pay taxes, yet so might second homeowners, international students, and illegal aliens. For voting, citizenship is a clear place to draw a bright line. Mr. Gennaro, the Queens Democrat, said noncitizens can’t hold office, so under the city’s bill “they’re good enough to vote for Mayor but not be Mayor.” Cynics, he added, would say “we’re looking for permanent residents to vote for us, but you don’t get a chance to, like, run against us.”
Other arguments were less, well, philosophical. Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo, a Brooklyn Democrat, said she worried the bill wouldn’t “amplify” black voices. “The top three ethnic groups that will benefit from this,” she said, are “the Dominican Republic, China, as well as Mexico.” She added that although it’s “not politically correct,” she is concerned that “many of our Latino brothers and sisters voted Republican, for President Trump.” So she opposed the bill.
These dissenting Democrats didn’t win the day, but let’s hope the courts say the whole thing is unconstitutional.
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