New York’s City Council wants to give non-U.S. citizens a say in how the government operates.
In turn, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio wants to strip the Big Apple and any other place that thinks likewise, of funding that comes from all American taxpayers.
“No city which allows non-U.S. citizens to vote should receive U.S. government funds,” the Florida Republican tweeted on Friday. “Next week I am going to file a bill to make that the law.”
Rubio’s tweet was in response to a vote by the New York City Council last week.
By a 33-14 margin, the council agreed to let non-Americans vote in local elections.
The council, in a press release issued on Thursday, noted, “New York City is proudly home to millions of working, taxpaying immigrants, yet those who are not U.S. citizens have no power at the ballot box to determine who represents them.”
“Under this bill, any New Yorker who is a lawful permanent resident or authorized to work in the United States, who has been a resident of New York City for at least 30 consecutive days, and who meets all the qualifications for registering to vote under the Election Law other than U.S. citizenship, would be eligible to register to vote as a ‘municipal voter.’”
As such, these foreign-born voters would be eligible to vote in any primary, special, general, or run-off election for mayor, city comptroller, public advocate, borough president, or council member, or any local ballot initiative.
The Washington Times, in reporting on the issue, noted, “The city would become the largest U.S. jurisdiction to grant citizens access to the ballot box, allowing the participation of an estimated 800,000 ‘Dreamers’ and green-card holders.”
Ironically, New York is ignoring democracy while claiming to promote it.
The council’s bill passed even though a group called Americans for Citizen Voting released a poll on Thursday that showed that 61 percent of likely New York voters oppose noncitizen voting.
“New Yorkers oppose giving non-citizens the vote by whopping majorities in every borough of the city,” Americans for Citizen Voting President Christopher Arps said in a statement. “The council isn’t furthering democracy by ignoring the voters and ramming the council’s preference through.”
Americans for Citizen Voting notes that San Francisco and 11 cities in Maryland already allow non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections.
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