New York City gives noncitizens the right to vote in local elections


The New York City Council approved a historic measure on Thursday that allows noncitizens to vote in local elections.
"Fifty years down the line when our children look back at this moment they will see a diverse coalition of advocates who came together to write a new chapter in New York City's history by giving immigrant New Yorkers the power of the ballot," Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, the bill's main sponsor, said.
Under the measure, noncitizens who have been lawful permanent residents of New York City for at least 30 days and those who are authorized to work in the United States will be able to hit the ballot box starting in early 2023, The Guardian reports. They can vote for mayor, city council members, comptroller, public advocates, and borough presidents, but won't be able to vote in state or federal elections.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The measure affects about 800,000 green card holders and Dreamers, young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. with their parents as children. The bill, which will automatically become law in 30 days if it isn't signed or vetoed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, could face legal challenges, with opponents questioning whether the city council has the authority to grant voting rights to noncitizens. Currently, there are about a dozen towns in Maryland and Vermont that allow noncitizens to vote in local elections.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Hotels with kitchen gardens for a foodie weekend away
The Week Recommends Feast on seasonal produce straight from the veg patch at these country retreats
-
Succession planning as the Dalai Lama turns 90
In the Spotlight China 'determined to shape the narrative' around choice of Tibet's next spiritual leader
-
AI is creating a luxury housing renaissance in San Francisco
Under the Radar Luxury homes in the city can range from $7 million to above $20 million
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders