New York City Council files notice of appeal after court strikes down law that allows NON-CITIZENS to vote in local elections

By lauraharris // 2024-03-28

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The New York City Council has filed a notice of appeal to reverse a state appeals court ruling that deemed a local law unconstitutional. The appeal was filed with the state's Supreme Court in a bid to reinstate the controversial legislation, Local Law 11, which gave legal noncitizens the right to vote in municipal elections. In 2022, New York City granted approximately 800,000 green card holders and other legal noncitizens with federal work authorizations and who are residents of the city the right to vote in local elections for city positions such as mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president and for members of the City Council. The Democratic supermajority in the City Council easily passed the bill in December 2021, but Republicans immediately sued it as soon as it became law. Justice Ralph Porzio, a lower court judge in Staten Island, struck down the law as unconstitutional in June 2022. (Related: New York City's non-citizen voting law struck down as unconstitutional.) Mayor Eric Adams' administration immediately appealed Porzio's decision. Last month, in a ruling with only one dissent, the Second Judicial Department of the Appellate Division of the New York State Unified Court System declined to overturn the decision, with Associate Justice Paul Wooten writing in the majority opinion that "this local law was enacted in violation of the New York State Constitution and Municipal Home Rule Law and thus must be declared null and void."

City Council claims legal noncitizens have the right to vote because they pay taxes

The City Council has argued that legal resident noncitizens contribute to the city through taxes and community involvement, thus, justifying their right to vote under the principle of "no taxation without representation." "Empowering New Yorkers to participate in our local democratic process can only strengthen New York City by increasing civic engagement," said NY City Council spokesperson Rendy Desamours. Furthermore, Desamours clarified that the appeal seeks a decision on whether the law is "consistent with the State Constitution, Election Law, and the Municipal Home Rule Law." Supporters of the legislation, including the Our City, Our Vote Coalition, rallied on the steps of City Hall in solidarity with the appeal. The coalition, serving as interveners in the legal battle, garnered support from various other local organizations. Murad Awawdeh, the president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, argued the significant economic contributions of immigrants to NYC while lamenting their lack of voting rights despite taxation. "The Our City, Our Vote legislation was supposed to change that by empowering nearly one million New Yorkers with permanent residence status or work authorizations the opportunity to vote in municipal elections," he said. Nevertheless, opposition to the law remains steadfast. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) of Staten Island voiced concerns about election integrity and criticized the allocation of taxpayer funds toward legal battles. Malliotakis urged the city to prioritize addressing pressing issues affecting residents' quality of life and public safety rather than pursuing costly legal appeals. "There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of our elections," said Malliotakis. Read more news about attempts to rig U.S. elections at VoteFraud.news. Watch this clip from Real America's Voice discussing how a non-citizen has been appointed to run San Francisco's elections. This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com.

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City Council claims legal noncitizens have the right to vote because they pay taxes

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