The New York Court of Appeals declared a law permitting noncitizen voting in local elections unconstitutional, asserting that the State Constitution mandates citizenship for voting eligibility. The court's 6-1 ruling followed a lower-court decision and concluded that the law would not apply as it had never come into effect. This decision halted an initiative aimed at empowering around 800,000 legal residents. City officials, while initially questioning the law's constitutionality, recognized the court's authority in its judgment, effectively ending the local law enacted under former Mayor Bill de Blasio's term.
Writing for the 6-1 majority, Rowan D. Wilson, chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, concluded that the State Constitution made citizenship a condition of voting.
It is plain from the language and restrictions contained in Article II that citizen' is not meant as a floor, but as a condition of voter eligibility: The franchise extends only to citizens whose right to vote is established by proper proofs and who vote by ballot.
The highest court in New York State has made its decision, and we respect the court's ruling, Kayla Mamelak Altus, a spokeswoman for Mayor Eric Adams, said.
The voting measure, known as Local Law 11, was passed by the City Council toward the end of Mayor Bill de Blasio's second and last term.
Collection
[
|
...
]