A law allowing hundreds of thousands of noncitizens living in New York City to vote in municipal elections was struck down on Thursday by the state’s highest court.
The 6-to-1 decision by the New York State Court of Appeals found that the law should be voided because it violates the state Constitution. In the court’s majority opinion, Chief Judge Rowan Wilson wrote that the state constitution clearly states that only US citizens can vote in elections in New York state.
“Whatever the future may bring, the New York Constitution as it stands today draws a firm line restricting voting to citizens,” Wilson wrote in a 36-page decision.
“The highest court in New York State has spoken,” said Nicholas Paolucci, a city Law Department spokesperson, in a statement. “We respect the court’s ruling.”
While it struck down the law, the court sided with Mayor Eric Adams’ administration in ruling that it did not violate the city’s Municipal Home Rule Law. In effect, the court rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that changes to local elections must be made through ballot referendums.
The Thursday decision was the end of a long road for the law.
The law originally passed the City Council in late 2021 and then lapsed into effect in early 2022 after not getting signed or vetoed by either former Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mayor Adams. It gave voting rights to noncitizens, including legal permanent residents and those with work authorization who have lived in the city for at least 30 days, of whom there were around 800,000 when the law passed.
The law only allowed noncitizens to vote in local elections for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, and City Council. It did not cover races for state or federal offices.
It was aimed at giving noncitizens who pay taxes and contribute to well-being of their communities a say in local elections.
However, the law was almost immediately challenged by a group of mostly Republican elected officials including Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, US Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (Staten Island/Brooklyn), and City Council Member Robert Holden (D-Queens).
A Richmond County Supreme Court judge sided with the group of lawmakers in 2022. The decision was upheld by a state Appeals court early last year following an appeal by the Adams administration. It then went to the state Court of Appeals, following another appeal by City Hall.
Holden, in a statement, said the ruling was “a major victory for election integrity and the rule of law.”
“The Constitution is clear: noncitizens do not have the right to vote, and this reckless scheme undermined the value of American citizenship,” he said. “I was proud to be a plaintiff in this case, and today, the courts have affirmed what we always knew—only American citizens should decide our elections.”
But immigrant advocates who pushed for the law see the court’s decision as part of a trend of diminishing voting rights across the country.
Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, said in a statement that the ruling “disenfranchises the communities that help keep New York City running.”
“We strongly disagree with the court’s decision, which undermines the very principles of inclusion that make our democracy strong,” Awawdeh said. “Denying New Yorkers with legal permanent residency or work authorization the right to vote in local elections is a grave injustice, stripping them of the ability to influence the policies that govern their daily lives.”
