New York City became the largest city in America to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections following a Thursday City Council vote.
Indeed, the City Council overwhelmingly approved legislation granting the right to more than 800,000 legal residents, the New York Times reports.
Noncitizens will be able to begin registering to vote in a year. They could begin voting in local elections as of January 9, 2023, according to the City Council.
The legislation affects those with green cards or the right to work in the U.S. It does not, however, enable them to vote in state or federal elections.
“People who are looking to get elected to office will now have to spend the same amount of time in the communities affected by this legislation as they do in upper-class neighborhoods,” Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, the bill’s primary sponsor, said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said he won’t veto the bill, which automatically becomes law if it’s not signed within 30 days.
Mayor-elect Eric Adams said he supports the rights of green card holders to vote in local elections and urged the passing of the legislation; however, he holds a similar position as de Blasio, questioning whether the City Council has the ability to grant voting rights.
According to the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, of the approximately 808,000 adults in New York who are permanent residents, have green cards or work authorization, 130,000 are from the Dominican Republic and 117,500 are from China.
Under the legislation, noncitizens would be provided different voting registration forms and ballots that only include municipal offices.
