New York State’s top court on Thursday struck down a New York City law that would have permitted more than 800,000 legal non-citizens to vote in municipal elections.
In a 6-1 decision, the Court of Appeals ruled that the law, passed by the City Council in 2021, violates the state constitution.
“Americans have fought over the meaning of citizenship and the right to vote since the earliest days of our Republic,” Chief Judge Rowan Wilson wrote for the majority. “Whatever the future may bring, the New York Constitution as it stands today draws a firm line restricting voting to citizens.”
