Advocates Vow to Appeal After Republican Judge in Staten Island Strikes Down NYC’s Non-Citizen Voting Law – By Colin Kalmbacher (Law and Crime) / June 27, 2022
A lower court judge in Staten Island struck down a recent law that granted the right to vote in local elections to New York City’s estimated nearly million-strong non-citizen population.
State Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio, a Republican, struck down the law, saying that it violated the Empire State Constitution. In New York State, the lowest courts are referred to as Supreme Courts.
“The New York State Constitution expressly states that citizens meeting the age and residency requirements are entitled to register and vote in elections,” the opinion says. “The New York State Election Law reaffirms that citizens meeting the age and residency requirements are entitled to register and vote in elections. There is no statutory ability for the City of New York to issue inconsistent laws permitting non-citizens to vote and exceed the authority granted to it by the New York State Constitution. Though voting is a right that so many citizens take for granted, the City of New York cannot “obviate” the restrictions imposed by the Constitution.”
