By Jeffery C. Mays and Annie Correal, The New York Times
New York City lawmakers are poised to allow more than 800,000 New Yorkers who are green card holders or have the legal right to work in the United States to vote in municipal elections and for local ballot initiatives.
The bill, known as “Our City, Our Vote,” would make New York City the largest municipality in the country to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections.
The legislation, expected to be approved by the City Council on Dec. 9 by a veto-proof margin, comes as the country is dealing with a swath of new laws to impose voter restrictions, as well as the economic and demographic effects of a decline in immigration.
Voters in Alabama, Colorado and Florida passed ballot measures last year specifying that only U.S. citizens could vote. The states joined Arizona and North Dakota in specifying that noncitizens could not vote in state and local elections.
“It’s important for the Democratic Party to look at New York City and see that when voting rights are being attacked, we are expanding voter participation,” said Ydanis Rodriguez, a councilman who sponsored the bill and represents Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan.
The legislation, first introduced almost two years ago, is the culmination of more than a decade of work to gain local voting rights for some legal permanent residents. It also extends the right to those with work authorization, such as the so-called dreamers, recipients of a program known as DACA that shields young immigrants brought into the country illegally from deportation and allows them to live and work here.
Recent Posts
Zohran Mamdani Is Showing Democrats How To Shape Voter Opinion
June 23, 2025
Take Action Now Polls recorded shifts in NYC residents’ priorities following mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s campaigning on housing.By Susan…
Bombing Iran Is Part Of The USA’s Repetition Compulsion For War War War
June 22, 2025
Take Action Now More than ever, the United States and Israel are overt partners in what the Nuremberg Tribunal in 1946 called “the supreme…
62 percent Of Democrats Agree Party Leadership Should Be Replaced: Survey
June 20, 2025
Take Action Now The party has found it difficult to build a cohesive message as the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has been embroiled in…
Democratic Leadership Is Complacent In The Face Of Iran War Threat
June 20, 2025
Take Action Now “It’s embarrassing that some problematic far-right figures are speaking out more forcefully against direct military…