In a ruling issued Thursday, the state’s top court found that New York City’s contentious municipal ordinance, which would have enabled certain persons without US citizenship to vote in city elections, was unconstitutional.
“Whatever the future may bring, the New York Constitution as it stands today draws a firm line restricting voting to citizens,” Court of Appeals Chief Judge Rowan Wilson wrote in the 6-1 majority decision announced Thursday. Jenny Rivera, Associate Judge, was the lone dissenter.
The verdict brings to an end a long-running debate over who may vote in New York City’s municipal elections and, for the time being, the campaign to enfranchise more than 800,000 noncitizens who were lawfully living, working, or attending school in the five boroughs.
The bill, enacted by the New York City Council in late 2021, would have enabled city residents with specific legal statuses, including as green cards, work permission, and DACA status, to vote in municipal elections for mayor, comptroller, public advocate, borough president, and council.
The ordinance became effective in January 2022, barely nine days after Mayor Eric Adams took office. The following day, Republicans backed by Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella filed a lawsuit, claiming that New York’s Constitution limited voting rights in all elections to US citizens and that the bill would dilute people’ ballots. The lawsuit sparked a three-year court struggle.
A state Supreme Court judge on Staten Island decided in their favor in 2022, as did an appeal court last year. The City Council then filed an appeal with the state’s highest court.
“For what should be the final time, common sense has prevailed,” Fossella said in a statement Thursday. “We have argued from day one that the plain wording of the New York State Constitution does not provide noncitizens the right to vote. We are grateful that the Court of Appeals perceived it similarly, and by a large margin.”
The measure’s supporters, including the City Council, civil rights organizations, and lawyers from the nonprofit LatinoJustice PRLDEF, challenged two lower-court verdicts before arguing it before the Court of Appeals in February. They claimed that the city had the authority to decide who may run in its municipal elections.
“The highest court in New York State has spoken.” “We respect the court’s decision,” said Nicholas Paolucci, a representative for the city’s ordinance Department, which was defending the ordinance on behalf of the Council.
In a statement, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said that, although the Council appreciated the decision, “we disagree that the State Constitution bars municipalities from expanding the local franchise to noncitizens, as noted by Justice Rivera in her dissent.”
Adams, who is running for mayor, said that the Council did agree with some aspects of the court’s decision, which determined that the Council’s passage of the noncitizen voting statute was legal.
“The Council, as always, will continue to support and protect our immigrant community members,” she said.
According to Cesar Ruiz, assistant attorney at LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the ruling is a “terrible setback for our immigrant communities who contribute so much to the well-being of the city.”
“Sadly, this decision aligns with the desires of those in this country who at this moment are persecuting immigrants and want to erase their influence and presence in our society, and reinforces systemic barriers that actively strip immigrants of opportunities for representation, protection and inclusion,” Ruiz told CNN. He noted that Latino Justice would continue to advocate for measures that benefit all New Yorkers, including those who are not US citizens.