The New York City Council is actively working to reverse legal decisions against Local Law 11, which proposes to extend voting rights to noncitizens residing within the city’s five boroughs for local elections.
The Council approached the state Court of Appeals on Monday, March 25th, to challenge previous rulings that deemed the law unconstitutional.
The “Our City, Our Vote” bill was initially passed by the City Council in December 2021, with strong support from Democrats and advocates who have long fought to extend voting rights to immigrants.
This law would enable green card holders and illegal migrants with temporary work authorization to participate in elections for mayor, public advocate, city council, and borough president.
This law would also allow tens of thousands of illegal migrants who crossed the border illegally and claim asylum to vote.
Immigration courts are backed up for years so illegal migrants who have not had their asylum cases decided would be voting in elections.
While the City Council pushes forward with this appeal, Mayor Eric Adams, previously a defendant in the lawsuit backing the law, has opted not to participate in the appeal to the state’s highest court.
Officials state that the city Law Department will continue to represent the Council.
The case aligns with the current discussion surrounding the methods employed by the city in housing and supporting the tens of thousands of migrants who have illegally migrated to the five boroughs in the past year.
Illegal migrants currently receive free housing, childcare, healthcare, cash, prepaid debit cards, legal services, and laundry service paid for by New York City taxpayers.
Attorneys representing the New York City-based organizations LatinoJustice and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund submitted their own appeal notice last Friday.
These civil and voting rights groups became involved in the lawsuit as defendant intervenors in 2022, advocating for individual voters who stand to benefit from the law granting them voting rights.
After the City Council adopted the law in 2021, the group celebrated implementing the measure before the 2023 Council elections, but legal challenges prevented that from happening.
Mayor Adams refrained from signing the bill into law but permitted it to come into effect in early 2022 and expressed his support for it.
However, a day after it was enacted, a coalition of Republican lawmakers led by Staten Island borough president Vito Fossella filed a lawsuit to prevent its implementation.
The law was initially invalidated in June 2022 by Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio, who determined that it violated state election laws, which stipulate that only United States citizens are eligible to vote.
Following this ruling, Mayor Adams’ administration pursued an appeal, but the Supreme Court’s appellate division rejected it last month, affirming Porzio’s decision.
The city council moving forward with an appeal to the Court of Appeals shows their determination in enfranchising illegal migrants in New York City to decide who represents citizens.
