New York City, long a beacon for immigrants, is on the cusp of becoming the largest place in the United States to give noncitizens the right to vote in local elections.
Legally documented, voting-age noncitizens comprise nearly one in nine of the city’s seven million voting-age inhabitants.
Under a bill nearing approval, some 800,000 noncitizens would be allowed to cast ballots in elections to pick the mayor, City Council members and other municipal officeholders.
Noncitizens still wouldn’t be able to vote for president or members of Congress in federal races, or in the state elections that pick the governor, judges and legislators.
Little stands in the way of the effort becoming law. The measure has broad support within the City Council, which is expected to ratify the proposal on Thursday.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has raised concerns about the wisdom and legality of the legislation but said he won’t veto it.
The law would give an electoral voice to the many New Yorkers who love the city and have made it their permanent home but can’t easily become US citizens or would rather remain citizens of their home nations for various reasons.
It would also cover “Dreamers” like Eva Santos, 32, who was brought to the US by her parents at age 11 as an unauthorised immigrant but wasn’t able to vote like her friends or go to college when she turned 18.—Agencies
