This Wednesday a state appeals court in a 3 to 1 ruling ruled unconstitutional Law 11, approved by the City Council in 2022 to allow permanent residents and foreigners with work visas to vote in local elections to elect mayor, comptroller, public defender, county presidents and City Council members, as well as ballot initiatives.
“Super bad because we also pay taxes like everyone else here, and it shouldn’t be like that. I mean, that’s my opinion, my point of view,” says Jefferson Cobos, legal resident.
A point of view shared by pro-immigrant organizations that have been trying for years to increase the civic participation of some 800,000 New Yorkers, almost 10% of the population of the five boroughs. In a statement, the New York Immigrant Coalition assured that:
“The lawsuit remains another shameful attempt by xenophobic Republicans who would disenfranchise residents rather than promote a more inclusive and participatory democracy,” said Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the NYIC.
Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has been defending the law and appealed a lower court’s ruling against noncitizen voting. The law also stipulated that immigrants, in addition to having federal work authorization, had to prove that they had been residents of New York City for at least 30 days.
“It’s bad because, well, my case is also similar. I pay taxes, taxes and everything, but no, I’m not benefited from that. So it seems like a bad, bad decision on their part,” says Andrea Zequicarey, legal resident. .
They, the opponents of the measure were mainly local officials of the Republican party, who chose the county of Staten Island for their demand; the justices arguing that the state’s Municipal Home Rule Act requires that election changes be approved by a voter referendum, rather than by a local legislature, like when New Yorkers voted in 2019 to adopt ranked-choice voting .
“Were you excited about being able to vote?” we asked Andrea Zequicarey.
“Yes, because I’m supposed to be paying the full price here. It seems a bit unfair to me.”
There is a national push to allow foreigners to participate more in the politics of their communities, and three Vermont cities already do so, allowing legal residents to vote in local elections.
