New York is on its way to becoming the largest city in the United States to grant access to the ballot box to those with a green card or legally authorized to work in the country. It would concern around a million foreigners, or one in nine inhabitant of the cultural and economic capital of the eastern United States. The law directs the Election Council to develop an implementation plan by July, non-citizens will not be able to vote until 2023. They will be able to choose the city’s mayor, city council, presidents arrondissements, the controller and the public lawyer. On the other hand, it will not be possible for them to vote for the president, for the members of the congress or to participate in the state elections.
“It’s no secret we are writing history”
The city’s move could ignite the nation’s voting rights debate, amid a backdrop where many mistakenly accuse widespread non-citizen fraud took place in federal elections. Ydanis Rodriguez, member of the Council and one of the main actors of the bill, declared “It’s no secret, we are writing history” in a statement released after the vote. Ron Hayduk, professor of political science at San Francisco State University also pointed out that the city of “New York, home of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island would be a suitable place to anchor a national movement to expand immigrant voting rights.”
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