Credit: Xinhua/Sipa USA
U.S.-VIRGINIA-PRIMARY-VOTING-SUPER TUESDAY
STATEN ISLAND, NY (77WABC) – Non-citizen voting became a reality this weekend in New York City but a group of New York Republicans are trying to put a stop to it. The new law will soon allow more than 800 thousand non-citizens to vote in municipal elections.
The suit, filed in Richmond County Staten Island Supreme Court, asks a judge to issue an injunction that prevents the city Board of Elections and the mayor from “implementing the law in any respect” due to its unconstitutionality.
“The law is clear and the ethics are even clearer: we shouldn’t be allowing citizens of other nations to vote in our elections, full stop. We are only two weeks into the Adams Administration and he is already kowtowing to the radical City Council,” New York Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy, a plaintiff in the suit, said in a statement.
“This lawsuit is the only thing that will stop them from their ultimate goal of eradicating all the lines between citizens and non-citizens,” he said.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), who represents Staten Island and Brooklyn, called the new measure “careless,” claiming it “dilutes” the perspectives of US citizens.
Plaintiffs in the suit include Staten Island Borough President Vito Fosella, Assemblymen Michael Reilly and Michael Tannousis, Councilman David Carr, as well as Councilwomen Inna Vernikov, Joann Ariola and Vickie Paladino.
Along with local GOP members, constitutional experts have raised legal concerns about the law ahead of its passage. The state constitution, Article 2, Section 1, grants the right to vote in all elections to “every citizen” 18 years of age or older.
Our foreign citizen lawsuit was filed today in Richmond County. pic.twitter.com/xDq7q1uX6l
— Joe Borelli (@JoeBorelliNYC) January 10, 2022
