NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The New York State Republican Party filed a lawsuit on Monday to challenge New York City's new noncitizens right to vote law that will enfranchise over 800,000 people to participate in city elections starting next year.
New York Republican State Committee Chair Nick Langworthy called the new law "unconstitutional and un-American" after Mayor Eric Adams allowed the bill to automatically become law at midnight Sunday despite his initial reservations.
"The law is clear and the ethics are even clearer: We shouldn’t be allowing citizens of other nations to vote in our elections, full stop," he said in a statement. “We are only two weeks into the Adams Administration and he is already kowtowing to the radical City Council. This lawsuit is the only thing that will stop them, from their ultimate goal of eradicating all the lines between citizens and non-citizens."
The new law will grant the right to vote to "lawful permanent residents of NYC, including green card holders, and people authorized to work in the U.S. who reside in NYC," including DACA recipients.
While it would allow anyone who has legally been living in the city for 30-days to register and vote in local elections. It would not allow them to vote in federal or state elections.
Then-Mayor Bill de Blasio questioned the constitutionality of the law, and whether it would survive a legal challenge, but allowed it to move forward after the City Council approved it 33-14.
Adams recently cast uncertainty over the legislation when he raised concern about the monthlong residency standard, but later said those concerns did not mean he would veto the bill. By Saturday, he said he would allow it to proceed.
"While I initially had some concerns about one aspect of the bill, I had a productive dialogue with my colleagues in government that put those concerns at ease," Adams said in a statement. "I believe allowing the legislation to be enacted is by far the best choice, and look forward to bringing millions more into the democratic process."
The Board of Elections must now begin drawing an implementation plan by July, including voter registration rules and provisions that would create separate ballots for municipal races to prevent noncitizens from casting ballots in federal and state contests.
Click here to read the full lawsuit.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related
Related
