NYC Noncitizen Voting Law Struck Down by State Top Court (3)

A New York City law letting resident immigrants with green cards or work authorizations vote in city elections is unconstitutional, the state’s top court ruled Thursday.

The New York State Constitution “limits voting to citizens,” Court of Appeals Chief Judge Rowan Wilson wrote for the 6-1 court. The ruling affirms a lower court decision from February 2024 striking down the law, which allowed up to 1 million non-citizens living in New York City for at least 30 days before an election to vote in municipal elections. The law did not provide for those residents to vote in state or federal elections.

State Republicans, led by former congressman and current Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella (R), challenged the law, arguing that the state constitution limits voting rights to US citizens.

The New York City Council and LatinoJustice PRLDEF argued that the constitution language saying every “citizen” who’s at least 18 years old “shall be entitled to vote at every election” is a floor—not a ceiling—that guarantees citizens the right to vote but that doesn’t prohibit voting by others.

But the court disagreed, saying that “reading is incompatible with other portions” of the constitution, which “precisely defines who may vote, restricting the franchise to citizens.” The City Council’s interpretation would allow municipalities to enact legislation letting anyone vote, including 13-year-old children, Wilson wrote.

LatinoJustice told the court during oral argument in February that “citizen” would apply to “at least US citizenship” but could “expand beyond that class.” Wilson said that argument is “disconnected from the issue in this case.”

“Even if someone could be a citizen of New York State without being a citizen of the United States, Local Law 11 does not purport to enfranchise citizens of New York who are not citizens of the United States—it purports to enfranchise noncitizens with no reference to any idea of New York State citizenship,” Wilson said.

Partial Dissent

Associate Judge Jenny Rivera partially dissented, saying the state constitution doesn’t prohibit localities from “exercising their home rule authority to enfranchise noncitizens.”

However, she agreed that the law should be struck down because it was never subjected to a referendum even though it requires the city to “implement extensive changes to its registration and election procedures to accommodate municipal voters.”

The City Council argued the law didn’t need to be subjected to a referendum because it didn’t alter the method of voting, but rather only expanded the voter class.

But the law changes the method for electing local public officers, which requires approval by a referendum, Rivera said.

The majority in a footnote disagreed with Rivera, saying an “expansion of the electorate does not alter the method of voting.”

Fossella said he’s glad the issue of noncitizen voting can “finally be put to rest, once and for all.” He declared the decision “a victory for common sense, and the sanctity and security of our franchise—the right to vote as American citizens.”

Michael Hawrylchak of O’Connell and Aronowitz, who represented Fossella and other Republicans, said he’s pleased the court reaffirmed the constitution’s limits on voter eligibility apply to New York City and all other municipalities in the state.

LatinoJustice Associate Counsel Cesar Ruiz said the ruling is a “terrible setback” for immigrants in New York City and sets “a dangerous precedent that undermines New York’s legacy as a place that values diversity and equal access to justice.”

The New York City Council said it will “respect the court’s ruling.”

The New York City Law Department represents the city council. LatinoJustice represents itself.

The case is Fossella v. Adams, N.Y., No. APL-2024-00033, 3/20/25.