NYC Sued over Noncitizen Voting Rights: 'US Elections Should Be Decided by Americans'
Republican National Committee files lawsuit against NYC
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The Republican National Committee (RNC) has filed a lawsuit against New York City after Democrat Mayor Eric Adams allowed legislation to pass that gives noncitizens voting rights in American elections.
The RNC sued NYC on Monday after Adams declined to block the bill allowing foreign nationals to vote in local elections.
On Sunday, the bill became law, granting voting rights to over 800,000 noncitizens living in New York City.
The bill was approved by the far-left City Council last month.
However, both Adams and former Mayor Bill de Blasio declined to use their veto power, which times out 30 days after a bill’s passage, to strike it down.
"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.
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"I look forward to bringing millions more into the democratic process,” the mayor added, according to The New York Times.
RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced on Monday that the GOP is challenging the new law in court, asserting that it threatened election integrity
"American elections should be decided by American citizens,” McDaniel said in a statement.
"If Democrats can subvert elections this flagrantly in America’s largest city, they can do it anywhere.
"The RNC is suing to protect the integrity of our elections, and we stand ready to do the same wherever Democrats try to attack the basic security of your ballot."
"Plaintiffs contend that the Non-Citizen Voting Law is unconstitutional and violates Articles II and IX of the New York State Constitution as well as the State Election Law and the Municipal Home Rule Law,” the RNC’s lawsuit states.
"Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment that the Non-Citizen Voting Law is unconstitutional, violative of New York statutory law, and invalid, as well as an injunction permanently enjoining the Defendants, the Mayor and the New York City Board of Elections, from enforcing or implementing the law in any respect.”
The effort to grant noncitizens the right to vote in New York City has been years in the making.
Progressive members of the City Council touted the law as an example for Democrats to follow in enacting elections reforms around the U.S.
"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,” NYC Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez said in November, referring critically to GOP-backed election reforms in other parts of the country.
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Georgia was one of the first states to pass GOP-backed election integrity measures following the 2020 election and concerns over emergency election reforms put in place over the pandemic.
Democrats condemned Georgia’s election reforms, claiming that the legislation amounted to modern “Jim Crow” laws, despite fact-checkers findings to the contrary.
The Democratic attacks led to real consequences for Georgians after Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that it was pulling its all-star game and 2021 draft out of Atlanta over the drummed-up controversy over the election reforms.
Georgia’s tourism industry alone took an estimated $100 million hit because of the boycott.
