New York City lawmakers and Mayor Bill de Blasio are reportedly discussing legislation that would give voting rights to non-citizens in local elections.
The Guardian noted that under the legislation that is being discussed, “legally documented residents who have lived in New York City for at least six months will be able to vote in municipal elections.” Lawmakers are reportedly “discussing the legislation with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office” and “a bill might be introduced as soon as this spring.”
Two years ago, city councilman Daniel Dromm “won the support of 35 of the city council’s 51 members, forming a veto-proof majority” when he tried to advance the non-citizen voting bill, “but he faced the obstruction of then council speaker Christine Quinn and the unbreakable opposition of the Bloomberg administration.” De Blasio, as Breitbart News has reported, has said he is “willing to continue the conversation” on non-citizen voting.
Non-citizens “make up as much as half the population” in areas that Dromm represents and studies have found that more than a million would be eligible to vote citywide if such de Blasio were to sign such a bill. New York recently instituted its IDNYC card, which gives illegal immigrants access to a variety of city services in addition to the municipal identification card.
As the Guardian points out, “many Americans find the idea of non-citizen voting entirely unpalatable and fear that it undermines the sanctity and privilege of citizenship.”
Peter Schuck, an emeritus professor of law at Yale University, told the outlet, “My guess is that it would cause many Americans to wonder what the point of citizenship is if anyone can vote without even bothering to learn or be committed enough to apply for naturalization.”
Eric Ulrich, one of three Republicans on the city council, recently told Newsday, “The right to vote is a privilege and a sacred obligation that citizens have enjoyed. It should only be for United States citizens. It’s also a reason for people who are on a path to citizenship to aspire to citizenship. It’s something for them to look forward to.”
As Breitbart News previously reported, “six Maryland jurisdictions and Chicago allow non-citizens to vote in some local elections,” and “activists in Amherst, Massachusetts, Madison, Wisconsin, and Burlington, Vermont are also clamoring to give voting rights to non-citizens.”