OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The New York City Council is planning to pass a bill that would allow approximately 800,000 non-citizens of the United States to vote in local elections.
The “Our City, Our Vote” legislation would allow migrants who hold green cards, those who maintain a legal work status in the United States, and DACA recipients to be granted special voter registration forms to vote in local elections.
“The legislation calls for training poll workers and community education campaigns to ensure every voter receives the correct ballot,” The New York Times reported.
Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez told the Times that the bill is good for Democrats because they can further their talking points claiming that “voting rights are being attacked.”
“It’s important for the Democratic Party to look at New York City and see that when voting rights are being attacked, we are expanding voter participation,” he said.
NYC may soon let 800,000 non-US citizens votehttps://t.co/nHXNWTvIj6
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 23, 2021
Republicans are already fighting the move in other parts of the country.
In October, the Republican National Committee announced it would sue Montpelier and Winooski, Vermont, for altering their town charters to accommodate municipal voting by noncitizens.
“Democrats are trying to dismantle the integrity of our elections. In addition to attacking widely supported safeguards like voter ID, Democrats also want foreign citizens to vote in American elections. Republicans are fighting back on this far-left assault against election integrity — unlike radical Democrats, we believe that our elections should be decided solely by American citizens. This is a matter of principle and we will fight in all 50 states to ensure this remains the case,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said.
Fox News reported:
The case centers around the Vermont cities of Montpelier and Winooski, who in May had changes to their charters approved by the state’s Senate that allowed non-citizens to vote in their municipal elections.
“I believe if someone wishes to be able to vote they should be a citizen,” Vermont state Sen. Brian Collamore told Fox News in an interview at the time. “The Montpelier bill allows what is defined as a legal resident of the United States to be able to vote in city elections. … If someone is here on a permanent basis, why would he or she not want to participate in the process to become a citizen?”
Republican Gov. Phil Scott vetoed the legislation in June, citing “inconsistency in election policy” across the state. . .
But the governor’s veto was overridden by the Senate in a 20-10 vote, with Democrats getting just enough votes to clear the two-thirds majority needed for a veto override.
The RNC is fighting for fair elections.
People must be citizens of the United States to vote at ANY and ALL levels of government.https://t.co/cezKtMhOiv
— GOP (@GOP) September 28, 2021
A press release announcing the lawsuit explained:
This radical scheme passed by Vermont Democrats, to allow foreign citizens to decide American elections is a blatant attack on election integrity and violates the state constitution which requires Vermont voters to be U.S. citizens.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel added:
Democrats are trying to dismantle the integrity of our elections. In addition to attacking widely supported safeguards like voter ID, Democrats also want foreign citizens to vote in American elections. Republicans are fighting back on this far-left assault against election integrity — unlike radical Democrats, we believe that our elections should be decided solely by American citizens. This is a matter of principle and we will fight in all 50 states to ensure this remains the case.
Republicans are fighting back against Democrats’ attempts to undermine election integrity.
The RNC is engaging in 27 election integrity-related lawsuits nationwide and building out a historic, year-round election integrity operation.
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) October 1, 2021
