Source: Zero Hedge
Having tried (and failed and doubled-down) in two Vermont cities earlier this year, and following the bitch-slap rejection of lefter-than-left progressive policies in Virginia (and less so, but still notably, in Jersey), Democrats have succeeded in passing a bill allowing non-citizens to vote in America’s largest city.
The Wall Street Journal reports that New York City’s Democrat-led city-council on Thursday voted 33-14 for the measure, which if enacted would take effect for council races in 2023.
The bill that will let more than 800,000 residents who aren’t U.S. citizens vote in municipal elections.
The measure would let lawful permanent residents or those authorized to work in the U.S. to vote in city elections if they have lived in the five boroughs for 30 days or more and meet the other requirements for voting. It wouldn’t grant voting rights to immigrants who entered the country illegally.
About 10% of the city’s 8.4 million inhabitants have status as lawful permanent residents, mostly with green cards, according to an April report by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
Despite saying he wouldn’t veto the bill (before he leaves office in a month), even New York City’s Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio has conceded that this is blatantly unconstitutional under New York law.
“In the end, I want to make sure that citizenship, which people work so hard to achieve, is valued and is given its full weight,” the mayor said in late November during an interview on NY1.
On the flip side, voters in Alabama, Florida, Colorado and North Dakota have voted to amend their state constitutions to mandate ballots be cast only by U.S. citizens.
“Democrats are trying to dismantle the integrity of our elections,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in October.
“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.”
New York City Councilman Joseph Borelli, a Republican from Staten Island, said he would vote against the measure.
“I think there’s a number of people looking at lawsuits,” Mr. Borelli said.
And so, just remind us again why it’s Republicans that are “threatening the very foundations of democracy”?
As Thomas Hicks Jr wrote recently:
“The case of New York City crystalizes just how far Democrats are willing to go to undermine election integrity. It goes without saying that voting is an immense privilege and responsibility. It’s also a right that should be reserved for U.S. citizens. Democrats want to water the meaning of citizenship down just so they consolidate power. The RNC isn’t going to let them. Our country will be better off for it.”
