Fox News host Sean Hannity
falsely claimed
that undocumented immigrants can vote in local elections in New York City.
This was said in an interview with former President Donald Trump, during an episode of his daily show
Hannity
broadcast on February 29.
“In New York City, for example, in local elections, undocumented immigrants can vote,” Hannity told Donald Trump, while they discussed immigration in an interview conducted in Eagle Pass, Texas, on the occasion of Trump's visit. former Republican president to the border with Mexico.
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During the interview, Trump also falsely suggested that the Biden Administration would be letting undocumented immigrants enter the southern border to offer them citizenship in exchange for their votes in the elections: “Maybe they want the votes (...) they are trying to register people as we speak,” Trump said.
Sean Hannity has hosted his opinion show, 'Hannity', on Fox News since 2009.Morry Gash / AP
Although Hannity says it over and over again, the truth is that undocumented immigrants cannot vote
in New York City .
In late 2021, the New York City Council passed a law allowing some immigrants to participate in local elections, but that legislation was never implemented.
Below, we explain what happened:
🟩 In December 2021, the city's municipal council—controlled by Democrats—enabled immigrants with permanent residence or work authorization in the United States to participate in municipal processes, including the election of the mayor and councilors.
The law required that people had to have lived in the city for at least 30 days before voting.
🟩 At that time it was estimated that between 800,000 and one million non-citizens would have been eligible to cast a vote in local processes.
Neither outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio (2014–2021) nor his successor, Eric Adams, signed the law, but neither did they veto it, and it was almost immediately challenged in court by Republicans, including state congressmen who accused Democrats of wanting to "manipulate" the electoral system.
🟩 In June 2022, before the law came into effect, Judge Ralph Porzio of the state Supreme Court in Staten Island annulled it, considering that it violated the New York state constitution, which states that “every citizen” is enabled to vote.
🟩 The Adams Administration defended the law and appealed the judge's decision.
But that management did not give results.
On February 21, an appeals court confirmed that the law is unconstitutional, interpreting that the clause of the state constitution that states that “every citizen shall have the right to vote” refers exclusively to citizens of the United States, according to ruling 3 -1 of the Appeals Division of the Second Judicial Department.
🟩
The law never went into effect and the immigrants it enabled to vote could not vote if they wanted to.
And much less all the undocumented immigrants living in the city, who were never covered by Democratic legislation.
Even the Fox News network, where Sean Hannity works, reported in February on the court's decision that ratified the unconstitutionality of the law.
Hannity's claim that undocumented immigrants can vote in New York
is false.