New York immigrants will be allowed to vote in municipal elections

Millions of New York immigrants will be able to vote in municipal elections thanks to new legislation. This publication writes FOX5NY.

New York City Councilor Ydanis Rodriguez has introduced a new bill. It will allow New York immigrants who are lawful permanent residents or have legal working papers but are not US citizens to vote in municipal elections. “The voting rights of immigrants will be expanded, make our democracy stronger, because it will give almost a million New Yorkers the right to vote,” Rodriguez said.

Dozens of immigrants and human rights organizations gathered on Thursday, January 23, on the steps of the city hall to express their support for the bill. They chanted: “Our city, our voice!” And “No taxation without representation!”

“For too long, members of our communities who live here, work here, raise their families here and pay billions of dollars in taxes have been excluded from the process,” said Theresa Thanjan of the New York Immigration Coalition.

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“Nowadays, in other parts of the country, if you look at Maryland, there are municipalities where non-citizens have the right to vote. We're not crazy, ”explained Jumaane Williams.

However, opponents say that only US citizens should have the right to vote and choose who will represent them in the government. In turn, Eric Ulrich, a member of the Republican city council representing the 32nd arrondissement, said the legislation was politically motivated and would create chaos and confusion. “Voting is an incentive for people to take the path of citizenship, and I don't know why someone needed to take it away,” he stressed.