A New York judge on Monday (June 27) quashed legislation passed by the municipality in December that allowed foreigners to vote in local elections, making the American megacity the first major city in the United States to have taken such a step.
Seized by the minority of Republicans on the New York City Council, the justice considered that such local legislation was contrary to the Constitution of the State of New York.
In a decision made public on Monday and according to the legal interpretation of the Constitution made by this judge from the New York borough of Staten Island, only American
“citizens”
have the right to vote for any ballot.
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This unprecedented law had been adopted in December by 33 votes in favor (14 against, two abstentions) by the New York City Council, dominated by the Democrats, and was to allow
“lawful permanent residents”
and
“persons authorized to work in the United States States"
living in New York - and who are not of American nationality - to
"participate in municipal elections"
.
Some 800,000 foreign New Yorkers are thus concerned out of approximately nine million souls in the megalopolis.
The measure was to take effect in January 2023. The Democratic and Republican primaries taking place this week for the election of the governor of New York State are therefore not affected by this decision.
The cultural and economic capital of the United States, a Democratic stronghold classified on the left, had adopted this law at the time of recurring debates in the country on access to the vote for minorities.
Several Republican states in the United States have been busy in recent months using unfounded allegations of 2020 presidential fraud to pass laws aimed, according to their critics, at restricting these voting rights.
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At the end of his mandate, the former mayor of New York, the very left-wing Bill de Blasio, had himself questioned the legal authority of the city vis-à-vis the Constitution of the State of New York to authorize the vote of foreigners, while assuring that he would not oppose it.
His successor Eric Adams, from the right wing of the Democratic Party, had also not said no to this unprecedented legislation.