OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is turning out to be just the opposite of the ‘law-and-order’ candidate he campaigned on, as evidenced by his agreeing to sign a measure giving non-citizens the right to vote in municipal elections.
Last week, Adams signed the “Our City, Our Vote” bill, which the all-Democrat city council passed in December, saying that his “initial concerns” with the measure were no longer sufficient enough to reject the measure, even though more than a dozen lawmakers, constitutional experts, and even far-left former Mayor Bill de Blasio all had problems with it.
The New York Post reports:
The bill granted approximately 800,000 legal, non-citizen residents — such as green card holders and recipients of deferred action — the right to vote in municipal contests, but not state or federal elections.
“I believe that New Yorkers should have a say in their government, which is why I have and will continue to support this important legislation,” Adams said in a statement Saturday.
“While I initially had some concerns about one aspect of the bill, I had a productive dialogue with my colleagues in government that put those concerns at ease. I believe allowing the legislation to be enacted is by far the best choice, and look forward to bringing millions more into the democratic process,” the new mayor continued.
Illegal aliens are not included in the measure, though it’s a distinction without a difference, perhaps, as non-citizens who are in the country legally are also not citizens. But the measure allows green card holders and so-called “Dreamers” to vote in elections for mayor, comptroller, public advocate, borough president, council member, or local ballot initiatives beginning in 2023, The Post reported.
“Adams initially expressed concern over the legislation, which the City Council approved a month ago, but the Democratic governor ultimately supported the measure and allowed his 30-day time limit to veto the bill to expire, according to AP,” Axios reported. “If the implementation is not curtailed by a judge, New York City will become the first major city in the country to extend voting rights to noncitizens, per AP.”
Adams, a former NYPD captain, ran on a platform of increased policing, but he also publicly backed far-left Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs last summer, despite Bragg’s pledge to decriminalize a range of crimes while reducing sentences for felonies including armed robbery. So those two are on a collision course it seems, according to the New York Daily News.
But aside from that, Adams’ signature on the Our City Our Vote legislation essentially proves what conservatives have been saying for years: Democrats aren’t interested in curbing illegal immigration because they want to convey the ‘right’ to vote on non-citizens. Already, some believe if this new ordinance holds up in court, Democrats in New York City and other metropolises their party controls will push for allowing illegal aliens to vote, as well.
Becker News sums it up this way:
It is no longer a ‘conspiracy theory’ by right-wing pundits that the Democratic Party has pursued lawless and reckless policies to benefit from immigration policies. It is a fact. New York City just proved it.
Every nation has the right to define who belongs to its political community based on civic norms and legal requirements. The Democratic Party shows that it doesn’t care about the U.S.’ system of Constitutionally limited government by allowing anyone to belong to the election system, regardless of whether or not they share the nation’s values and core beliefs.
As long as the Democratic Party benefits politically, that is considered to be acceptable practice. Needless to say, every judicial, electoral, and civil means of stopping this affront to America’s election integrity should be on the table.
