Court Strikes Down NYC Law Allowing Noncitizens To Vote

The New York Supreme Court ruled Monday in favor of a lawsuit against giving noncitizens the right to vote in local elections.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) sued New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the New York City Council and the New York City Board of Elections in January for passing a law allowing noncitizens to vote. (RELATED: Glenn Youngkin’s Budget Slashes Handouts To Illegal Migrants, Advocates)

In its decision, the New York Supreme Court said that there’s no legal authority allowing non-citizens to vote.

“There is no statutory ability for the City of New York to issue inconsistent laws permitting non-citizens to vote and exceed the authority granted to it by the New York State Constitution,” the state supreme court said in the decision.

“Though voting is a right that so many citizens take for granted, the City of New York cannot ‘obviate’ the restrictions imposed by the Constitution,” it added.

The lawsuit alleged that around one million noncitizen adults live in New York City, adding that the number of noncitizens eligible to vote in local races could comprise 15% or more of the vote. It claimed that the law violated the state constitution that requires voters to be U.S. citizens.

“Today’s ruling is a huge victory for election integrity and the rule of law: American elections should be decided by American citizens. The [Republican National Committee (RNC)] is proud to head a broad coalition in successfully challenging this unconstitutional scheme and will continue to lead the effort across the country to ensure only citizens can vote in America’s elections,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.

Neither the New York City Council nor the New York City Board of Elections responded to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

Mayor Adams’ office referred TheDCNF to the city’s law department, whose spokesperson called the ruling “disappointing … for people who value bringing in thousands more New Yorkers into the democratic process.”

“We are evaluating next steps,” the spokesperson added.

New York City Noncitizen Voting Law

Fossella v. Adams

Filed: January 10, 2022

Decided: June 27, 2022

Lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of Republican voters and officials representing New York at the local and federal levels, the New York Republican State Committee, Republican National Committee and a Democratic city council member challenging New York City’s new noncitizen voting law. The law allows legal residents, including those with green cards and Dreamers, who have lived in New York City for at least 30 consecutive days to vote in municipal elections (the law does not extend to state or federal elections). The plaintiffs allege that allowing over 800,000 eligible noncitizens to vote in elections in New York City — which has approximately 5 million registered voters — will dilute the votes of United States citizens by “dramatically increasing the pool of eligible voters” in violation of the New York Constitution and state election laws. The lawsuit asks the New York Supreme Court of Richmond County to block the law and prohibit noncitizens from registering and voting. The court struck down the law finding that the law violated the New York Constitution, New York election law and the Municipal Home Rule law.