NY Supreme Court Strikes Down Voting Law

NY Supreme Court Strikes Down Voting Law

Election integrity is a topic that is receiving a lot of attention in the United States right now, and it will continue to receive a lot of attention as we move closer to the midterm elections in November and the presidential election in 2024. Many people in our community are still worried that our voting system isn’t completely trustworthy, as there have been rumors that deceased citizens have “voted” and that ballots have been miscounted. Another problem is that some people who aren’t citizens are allowed to vote in elections. However, as of right now, residents of New York who are only here unlawfully will not be given the opportunity to vote in any election.

In December of 2021, the New York City Council established a new category of voters that they referred to as “municipal voters.” In essence, it allowed non-citizens who had been living in the city for at least one month prior to an election to register to vote in that election. The Republican Party was quick to seize on this as yet another strategy to give illegal residents a voice in elections held in the United States.

This law would have allowed “municipal voters” to participate in a variety of important elections, including those for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president, and council member, among others. However, the Supreme Court of the state has decided that this kind of thing is not permitted. According to Judge Ralph Porzio of the Richmond County Supreme Court, the state Constitution “explicitly lays the foundation for ensuring that only proper citizens retain the right to voter privileges.”

Because of this, anywhere from 800,000 to 1 million people in the state are impacted, which in turn has a significant influence on voting and elections in the years to come.

The previous mayor, Bill de Blasio, and the current mayor, Eric Adams, did not sign or veto the bill. According to de Blasio, there were “big legal questions” surrounding the bill, so he was concerned. He was also concerned that it would only provide non-citizens with additional motivation to continue living in the country illegally rather than pursuing legal citizenship.

The Republican National Committee and the New York Republican State Committee, along with individual voters, filed a lawsuit against city officials over the law, which ultimately led to this ruling. At the time, they stated that it was a direct violation of the Constitution of the state.

In the end, Porzio came to the conclusion that the City of New York does not have the authority to issue laws that allow non-citizens to vote. This is in line with what the vast majority of politicians on the right have been arguing for years. At the same time, a large number of Democrats continue to advocate for what some people refer to as the “illegal vote. However, because there are so many people living in the United States illegally, it is abundantly clear that this has a significant influence on our electoral process, and it appears to be in violation of virtually every law that is currently in effect in the country.