Political leaders in New York City intend to extend the right to vote to non-citizens by creating a new class called "municipal voters." These new voters will include legal permanent residents-LPR, commonly known as "green card" holders-and other non-citizens who are "permitted to work in the United States." Municipal voters will be allowed to vote in all local elections, including mayors, public advocates, auditors, city councils, primaries, general elections and special elections for district governors, as well as voting in local voting initiatives. They will not be allowed to vote in state or federal elections.

Approximately 37% of New York City residents were born abroad. The majority of these more than 3 million people are naturalized citizens who have the right to vote in any election, provided they are over 18 years old and are not currently in prison or on parole. The “municipal voter” legislation will apply to 650,000 LPRs in New York City and approximately 150,000 others who hold employment-eligible visas or obtain “deferred action” status under DACA.

There are approximately 5.6 million registered voters in New York City, 90% of which are considered “active”. An additional 800,000 voters may create a major new voting group, although it is not clear whether these voters will be particularly motivated to vote. The voter turnout rate in New York City, especially in local elections, is very low, usually less than 20% of registered voters are willing to take the trouble; some people believe that non-citizens will be less involved in this process. However, the impact on some parliamentary elections may be meaningful: the non-citizen population is unevenly distributed around the city, so areas with more than 50% of the non-citizen population in Queens or parts of the Bronx may be more affected than other areas Impact. A city with a higher population density.

Allowing non-referendums to vote was normal in the early days of the United States of America, although New York State ended this practice in 1804. Arkansas was the last state to abolish foreign voting in 1926. After the teachers’ strike in 1968, New York City opened the local school board’s vote to all residents, provided that the non-citizen parents of school children should have a say in how the school operates. But the school board was abolished in 2002, when the direct control of the Ministry of Education was concentrated in the hands of the mayor, and the city’s non-referendum experiment ended.

Council member Idanis Rodriguez is the initiator of the current legislation, which is scheduled to vote in early December. He believes that granting non-citizens the right to vote "is not to help immigrants by allowing them to vote. If they were like when I got my green card Pay taxes, then they should have the right to elect local leaders.” This argument is based on the principle that taxation requires representation and has a certain degree of easy appeal. But if taxation is the basis of franchising, then why did Rodriguez limit his bills to legal permanent residents? Starting in 2013, the early version of the legislation will also vote for illegal foreigners-the same argument on taxation was also raised at the time, as some of them usually used stolen social security numbers to pay income and payroll taxes. If they make a contribution, shouldn't they also be allowed to vote?

For left-wing voters, a major problem with this argument is that it makes tax payment a prerequisite for voting, on the grounds that only those who contribute to public finances can have a say in spending. John Stuart Mill (John Stuart Mill) clarified this point in 1859, he explained: "Those who do not pay taxes, and vote to control the money of others, have the motive of spending extravagant, but not the motive of frugality." For familiarity and notoriety, Mitt Romney (Mitt Romney) proposed a version of this argument in 2012 when he rejected 47% of voters who “relied on the government” and “do not pay income tax”. Therefore, he will never be supported.

Creating a new class of "municipal voters" is asking for trouble. The New York City Election Commission is known for its clumsiness and inefficiency. New York City rarely has high turnouts or evenly matched elections to reveal how bad its work is. This must make you feel lucky. Municipal elections are held during the rest of the year, so they will not overlap with federal elections, but they will be held at the same time as some state-level votes and may create opportunities for fraud or at least major chaos.

The non-referendum will definitely pass the city council and may be signed into law-but it is a flagrant violation of the New York State Constitution and will almost certainly fail in court. The New York Constitution clearly stipulates: “Every citizen has the right to vote for all officials elected by the people and all questions submitted to the people’s vote in every election, provided that the citizen is over 18 years old and should be three years before the election. Within ten days, residents of the state and the county, city, or village.” Advocates of the bill insist that this language does not prohibit non-referendums, but the wording of this part seems likely to need to be revised—it’s a complicated one. The process includes two consecutive legislative approvals, followed by a statewide referendum.

In modern democracy, voting is closely related to citizenship and the ensuing obligations and rights, which is why the right to vote is usually limited to those who have a deep connection with the country through birth or oath. Authorizing non-referendums will devalue citizenship, which is the cornerstone of American life. Advocates may really believe that it will strengthen democracy — or they may have other agendas. In any case, by weakening the meaning of American autonomy, non-referendums are actually anti-democratic.

Seth Barron is the managing editor of The American Mind and the author of The Last Days of New York.

Photo by David Di Delgado/Getty Images

Quarterly Urban Affairs, published by the Manhattan Institute, edited by Brian C. Anderson.

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