NY City Council weighs bill giving non-citizen Caribbean immigrants right to vote

NEW YORK, CMC - New York City Council is debating a bill that would give non-citizen Caribbean and other immigrants the right to vote.



If passed, New York would be the first major city in the United States to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections.



According to the bill, Caribbean and other immigrants living legally in New York for at least six months would cast votes for mayor and other municipal offices.



Although six towns in Maryland allow non-citizens to vote, no major American city grants that right.



Councilman Danny Dromm, Democrat of Queens, the bill’s sponsor, said it’s unfair to deny voting rights to law-abiding non-citizens who pay taxes.



“They contribute to society but are ultimately disenfranchised because they cannot vote,” he said.



Another colleague, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, Democrat of Manhattan, recalled the 17 years he lived in New York before becoming a US citizen.



“I worked in the Twin Towers washing dishes, and I paid taxes. I drove a livery cab, and I paid taxes.”



But Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr.,Democrat of Queens, said the proposed six-month residency requirement is not long enough.



“Someone in the country that short a time doesn’t have a stake in the future of the city,” he said.



Supporters of the bill said New York City has the right to determine who can vote in its own elections.



Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he opposes the bill, partly because it violates state law, which makes citizenship a requirement to vote.



“The Mayor believes voting is the most important right we are granted as citizens, and you should have to go through the process of becoming a citizen and declaring allegiance to this country before being given that right,” said his spokeswoman Evelyn Erskine.



The New York Board of Elections said the bill would create a logistical nightmare, with one ballot for local races, another for state and national contests.



The bill is sponsored by 34 Council members, enough to override any veto.





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