On Monday, a New York state judge ruled that illegal aliens and other non-citizens are not allowed to cast votes in municipal elections in New York City, in the process striking down a law permitting them to do so as unconstitutional.
As reported by ABC News, the ruling from Judge Ralph Porzio of Staten Island declared that the law passed in December, known as “Our City, Our Vote,” violated the New York state constitution, which explicitly grants the right to vote to “our citizens.” The bill, which only allowed non-citizens to vote in local elections rather than in state or federal elections, affected at least 800,000 illegal aliens living in New York City.
The bill was passed by the New York City Council, and although then-Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-N.Y.) refused to sign it, the legislation eventually took effect on its own in January. Current mayor Eric Adams (D-N.Y.) has voiced his support for the bill, vowing that he “will continue to support this important legislation.”
“The New York State Constitution explicitly lays the foundation for ascertaining that only proper citizens retain the right to voter privileges,” Judge Porzio said in his ruling. “It is this court’s belief that by not expressly including noncitizens in the New York State Constitution, it was the intent of the framers for noncitizens to be omitted. Though voting is a right so many citizens take for granted, the City of New York cannot ‘obviate’ the restrictions imposed by the Constitution.”
Porzio’s ruling was the end result of a case brought against the law by Republican lawmakers, who sued to block the law from going into effect. City Council Minority Leader Joseph Borelli (R-N.Y.) issued a statement celebrating the judge’s ruling, saying that it “validates those of us who can read the plain English words of our state constitution and state statutes: Noncitizen voting in New York is illegal, and shame on those who thought they could skirt the law for political gain.”
But far-left groups which support the law have vowed to fight the ruling. Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the left-wing New York Immigration Coalition, said that his group would continue to fight to “ensure that nearly 1 million New Yorkers who are building their lives here and investing in our communities can have a say in their local democracy.”
“We refuse to allow today’s verdict to further the disenfranchisement of black and brown communities in New York City,” Awawdeh added.