November 23, 2021

"New York City lawmakers are poised to allow more than 800,000 New Yorkers who are green card holders or have the legal right to work in the United States to vote in municipal elections..."

"... and for local ballot initiatives.... The legislation, expected to be approved by the City Council on Dec. 9 by a veto-proof margin.... In spite of having a veto-proof majority of 34 out of 51 City Council members and the public advocate co-sponsoring the bill, the legislation has not moved forward until now partly because of concerns about its legality. Mayor Bill de Blasio has contended that the change 'has to be decided at state level, according to state law'... Eric Adams, the mayor-elect, has said he supports the legislation and believes that green card holders should have the right to participate in local elections.... At the polls, those voters would fill out a ballot that only has New York City offices on it...."

The NYT reports.

59 comments:

n.n said...

Legal resident. So much for civil rights.

Achilles said...

If you don't like the current crop of voters, turn your city into a 3rd world hell hole and import people to vote for you after the current residents move out.

Kinda like what the Biden Regime is doing to the US.

This was the Oligarchy's plan from the start.

Wince said...

The grinding Nordstrom-ization of citizenship and of the social contract by Democrats continues apace.

James K said...

At the polls, those voters would fill out a ballot that only has New York City offices on it....

Yeah, right. I've voted in NYC and even when it's as simple as giving a Republican ballot to Republicans and a Democrat ballot to Democrats in a primary election they screw it up. Expect lots of "mistakes" allowing non-citizens to vote for state and national offices.

Gahrie said...

At the polls, those voters would fill out a ballot that only has New York City offices on it...."

How is going to work? How will the elections officials know which ballot to hand them?

Temujin said...

Per my comment on the earlier Marc Maron post: This is how you lose a republic.

Temujin said...

Actual citizens votes are canceled out by non-citizens. This is how you lose a Republic and reshape a country to your desired demography.

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

But, yeah, Texas is hot and stuff.

Amexpat said...

That's the system here in Norway. Legal alien residents, after a certain number of years, can vote in local elections but not national elections. I took advantage of that until I got dual citizenship. I think it's a fair to get some say when you're paying taxes.

Original Mike said...

Creating more Texans.

Sebastian said...

To the left, citizenship means nothing. What's the point of having a country, anyway?

tim maguire said...

Voting rights are tied to investment in the community. For federal elections, citizenship is a good measure for this investment, but at the local level, a lower retirement is reasonable. There's no such thing as local citizenship, residency is the best you can get and given how much lower the stakes are, it's all you really need to ask.

Michael K said...

They could not do worse than legal residents have done in recent years,

Two-eyed Jack said...

I'm very dismayed about what's happening to New York City... I mean, dude, we cannot let this go. You cannot let democracy slide off the table.

J Melcher said...

What stops a person who is a citizen of another nation, but resident in the U.S. from voting in both nations?

What stops a person resident in NYC who owns a home in Florida from voting in both states?

Why should we moderns even try to enforce the old fashioned norm of "one person, one vote" when so many are nomads, refugee, globalists, trans-Atlantic, jet-set, migrant...

Jake said...

I bet that won't cause any problems for general elections.

Maynard said...

I guess that the only thing that could go wrong is that they vote for Republicans.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

Norway has this for local elections after three years, and regional after five. You have to be a citizen to vote in the national.

Vance said...

And how are they going to handle the next federal election? Two ballots, one for city and one for everything else?

Or are they just going to cheat and allow everyone to vote federal too? We all know the answer to that one.

Unless, of course, these illegals all vote Republican. Then they will be immediately deported or sent to concentration camps.

It is a truism that if illegal alien hispanics voted for Republicans you would be able to see the US-Mexico border from space, with the wall and the moat and the military there to make the DMZ look like a peace park.

Gunner said...

This new guy is friends with Al Sharpton. When I found that out, I knew he would be a bigger disaster than Blasio.

R C Belaire said...

By all means let's have NYC run that experiment! Should be fun to watch, no? For US citizens in NYC, maybe not so much.

Gabriel said...

Once they're handed the wrong ballot and they vote it, there's no way to fish it back out later.

They're just making it easier to get away with fraud.

JMR said...

Or we could not. The previous election had a few problems revealed wrt citizens voting, how is this supposed to make anything better without tightening the distinction between "municipal" voters and others?

Big Mike said...

At the polls, those voters would fill out a ballot that only has New York City offices on it....

Suuuuuurrrrre

gilbar said...

At the polls, those voters would fill out a ballot that only has New York City offices on it...."

unless,
we "accidentally" give them a regular ballot; which, once filled out and put in the slot;
Can NOT be distinguished from other regular ballots. heh heh heh heh

Hamlet's Fool said...

Years ago I had a similar discussion with a very liberal friend of mine who, at the time, was living in Rochester, NY. He was arguing that anyone should be able to vote in their local election. I asked him if that meant that I could drive up from NJ on election day to cast my ballot. That gave him pause.

Basically they never think of the logistics involved, or how it could turn negative. It's all about feeling good about expanding rights of the "downtrodden" without thinking of how it impacts everyone else.

gilbar said...

Sebastian said...
To the left, citizenship means nothing. What's the point of having a country, anyway?


"No Border, No Wall, No USA at All"

farmgirl said...

I’m gonna sound naive- does this happen in other countries?

farmgirl said...

…and will they be able to hold office themselves?

hawkeyedjb said...

Michael K said...
They could not do worse than legal residents have done in recent years

Good point. The locals elected deBlasio. Twice. I don't see how noncitizens can worsen that kind of decision-making.

n.n said...

For US citizens in NYC

Citizenship is such an archaic concept. It's akin to mom, dad, and children (our Posterity).

Rollo said...

Eric Adams wants to hit the ground running and get all the "disappointing the voters" out of the way early.

Mikey NTH said...

Their playground, their rules.

Now, is it better to do this or encourage their green card holders to become citizens so they can vote in any election?

FullMoon said...

So, around 13% of NYC population over 18 years old.

J Melcher said...

As to the segregation of ballots, the simple solution is to hold local (city, county, precinct, state, whatever) elections on a completely different day than federal elections. Heck, have 12 elections per year, each month a different jurisdiction.

With regard to driving in from NJ to vote in NY, -- well, why not? Particularly if elections are on different days. Vote for mayor of Newark in March and Mayor of NYC in April. Vote in the Democratic primary in NJ early June, and again in the New York primary in late June. You might have to re-register, but that's no great hardship, right? As is said, vote early and often.

Once we surrender the idea of "identifying" one citizen with one vote, we might as well just "vote" by SurveyMonkey.

Joe Smith said...

'I think it's a fair to get some say when you're paying taxes.'

IF they're paying taxes.

I am for a total ban on immigration for at least 5 years.

Poor Americans will figure out how to pick grapes when their welfare is cut off and they're hungry enough...

BUMBLE BEE said...

Was that crash just I heard the real estate values dropping?
Who'd want to be a part of it, New York New York ... sing along everybody!

Rabel said...

Just over one million New Yorkers vote in Mayoral elections.

If 800,000 non-citizens can vote on ballot initiatives, then will it be like when the genie gives you 3 wishes - your first wish is for more wishes?

Left Bank of the Charles said...

The logistics are made somewhat easier by New York City elections being in odd years and state and federal elections being in even years. So they don’t need two sets of ballots so much as two lists of registered voters. But that can be handled with a column in a database these days.

rcocean said...

Gee, how many of those 800,000 voted in 2020?

I know that in Calf it is against the law to ask for proof of citizenship. Basically its the honor system. The person checks a box saying "I'm a us citizen" and they get to vote. And get a Drivers Liscnese. the citizenship is never checked. One doesn't have to speak English either. Ballots are printed in 40 languages. As you might expect almost all of them vote D, why would they vote R?

That's one reason why Newsome is still Governor. And why I laugh at all the Dumb Conservatives/Libertarians who are upset at him. You don't care about immigration, but immigation cares about you.

Of course, the Conservatives aren't ever going to change. Because... y'know Joe biden and nancy pelosi and the Billionaires who control the Dems will never do anything radical to hurt their pocketbook. Or so they wish.

gilbar said...

'I think it's fair to get some say when you're paying taxes.'

Couldn't Agree MORE!!
Here's gilbar's modest proposal. Since 'it's fair to get some say when you're paying taxes.'

How about..... You HAVE TO BE PAYING TAXES TO GET A VOTE???
I mean, that's fair; right? Since 'it's fair to get some say when you're paying taxes.'

Don't Pay Federal Taxes? Sorry; NO VOTE

M said...

Non citizens should not be making policy for a country. Period. If they want a political voice they should go back to their own country or become full US citizens.

Narayanan said...

Why not term limits for the electorate? Make easy to elect new people.

Bunkypotatohead said...

“When the people find that they can vote themselves money that will herald the end of the republic.”
That works for non citizens too.

effinayright said...

n.n said...
For US citizens in NYC

Citizenship is such an archaic concept. It's akin to mom, dad, and children (our Posterity).
*****************

Not to mention "son" or "daughter".

Leora said...

I think the far left will likely be disappointed at the voting habits of legal immigrants. The change may be very helpful in getting sane people elected.

Joe Smith said...

'Don't Pay Federal Taxes? Sorry; NO VOTE'

Not sure why this is controversial...

glacial erratic said...

And why just green card holders? That's discriminatory, and a probably a sign of white supremacy.

And why just local elections, you racist, you?

Democratic talking points for the next two elections.

cyrus83 said...

This is not a difficult concept, guests should not have a say in how their hosts run their affairs. It's not like the US makes citizenship particularly difficult, but it is infuriating that the government tends to treat the citizens as peasantry and the guests as royalty.

Misinforminimalism said...

I'd be willing to have this discussion if "pathways to citizenship" for people who are here illegally weren't the A-1 priority of one of our major parties. As it is, though, back the f*ck up, and leave my rights of citizenship the **** alone.

Robert Cook said...

"Was that crash just I heard the real estate values dropping?
Who'd want to be a part of it, New York New York ... sing along everybody!"


Actually, real estate prices are rising in NYC.

Also: "Once you get a green card (U.S. lawful permanent residence), you automatically become a U.S. tax resident. U.S. tax residents must declare their entire incomes to the U.S. government's Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at tax-time, no matter where the income was earned. They must also report certain information about foreign financial assets."

So, if green-card holders must pay taxes, why should they not also be able to vote in local elections? They're paying into the system just as does any full-fledged citizen.

Charlie said...

Smokey this is not 'Nam, this is bowling. There are rules.

rcocean said...

Why would anyone think that NYC is being financially hurt by this?

Crazy.

Joe Smith said...

'They're paying into the system just as does any full-fledged citizen.'

I paid taxes for a couple of years in a foreign country.

There is no way that a foreigner (me) had the time or even the language skills to understand politics and what is best for the citizens of my host country.

How's this deal? Make them take a test in English. No pass, no vote.

That same test should be applied to full citizens as well...

CWJ said...

The political version of the stakeholders/shareholders concept with citizens playing the role of shareholders. Once you concede the paying taxes argument, I'm not sure how you exclude state and national elections.

Chris Lopes said...

"So, if green-card holders must pay taxes, why should they not also be able to vote in local elections? They're paying into the system just as does any full-fledged citizen."

Spending money in a place doesn't make you one of the owners. If I buy something from a different state and pay the sales taxes on that item, I don't get to vote in their next election. Citizenship is about more than paying taxes.

Robert Cook said...

”Citizenship is about more than paying taxes.“

Really? Do tell how. They’re lawful full-time residents who pay taxes. They have a stake in their communities as do “actual” citizens. If they bother to vote, they may even be more well-informed than your average American citizen.

rcocean said...

Lets not be naive. NYC leftist are pushing this because it increases their vote. Now any Biped from anywhere in the world can show up on election day (or before) and cast a vote in OUR elections.

Its about the Left and power. That's all. No Conservative outrage because it doesn't take $$ out of their pocket. NOW. SHort-sighted fools, but what else is new?

Robert Cook said...

Only Bipeds who have acquired green cards and reside in the district. Don’t let xenophobia and paranoia rule your thinking.