Law allowing 800K non-citizens to vote in New York ruled unconstitutional by appeals court

A New York state appeals court struck down a controversial law on Wednesday that would have allowed 800,000 non-citizens to vote in municipal elections in New York City.

“We determine 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,” Appellate Judge Paul Wooten wrote in the 3-1 majority decision.

The state constitution clearly states that only citizens can vote in both statewide and municipal elections.

“Article IX provides that the elected officials of ‘local governments’ shall be elected by ‘the people,’ which incorporates by reference the eligibility requirements for voting under article II, section 1, applying exclusively to ‘citizens,'” the judge wrote.

The ruling upholds the lower court verdict, which Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council had appealed.

New York City has many non-citizens living there, so it makes sense that some would want them to have a say in how the city is run, but it is simply not constitutional because it opens the door to foreign control of the city.