J’can leaders welcome NYC move allowing vote to non-citizens

NEW YORK, NY:

Jamaican leaders in the diaspora have welcomed the move by the New York City Council to allow non-citizens who are legal permanent residents the right to vote in NYC local elections.

The city council voted 35 to 14 with two abstentions to allow non-citizens the right to vote in local elections.

Vice chair of the Florida Democratic Party, Rev. Dr Karen Green, welcomed the move by the New York City Council and expressed the view that municipalities in Florida, such as Broward County with several Jamaican locally elected leaders, should look to follow suit.

Looking specifically at Florida, Green expressed her personal opinion that South Florida could benefit from such a change.

“Legal permanent residents contribute to the economic, social and cultural fabric of their cities. They are home and business owners and pay taxes, so allowing them the right to vote in local elections could spur their civic participation further,” she said.

Green sees giving legal permanent residents the right to vote as fair as they should have the option to participate at the local level in elections.

“This could spark more interest in participating in elections and would strengthen the electoral process,” she said

Jamaican New York resident Sunil Mitchell also welcomed the city council’s decision to give the vote to legal permanent residents.

“I think it is a good move. They pay taxes and otherwise contribute to the city, so why should they not be allowed to vote in local elections,” he questioned.

He sees the New York City Council’s move as a start.

Under the legislation, legal permanent residents would be allowed to vote in local elections such as for mayor of New York City, for members of the city council, local school boards and all other such localised elections. They would not be allowed to vote in state-wide elections or in federal elections where presidents, US House members and US senators are elected.

The move by the city council will cover more than 900,000 people in New York City.

Irwine Clare, head of the Caribbean Immigration Service in Queens, also welcomed the move but said that the messaging has to be right.

“There are legal implications for non-citizens to vote in federal elections and this must be clearly spelled out, otherwise it could have implications for people when they apply to become citizens,” he said.

Overall, Clare said that legal permanent residents are making their contributions to the fabric of the municipality and being given the right to vote is an extension of their contribution to the city.

“Many have contributed to the life blood of the city and this will go a far way to ensuring stakeholdership,” he said.

New York City joins some 14 other municipalities across the United States which allow legal permanent residents to vote. These include 11 municipalities in Maryland, two in Vermont and one in San Francisco.

Two states, Arizona and North Carolina, have expressly barred non-citizens from voting.

Joshua A. Douglas, associate professor of law at the University of Kentucky College of Law, published an article in 2017 stating, “Municipalities can expand voting rights in local elections if there are no explicit state constitutional or legislative impediments and so long as local jurisdictions have the power of home rule.”

Senator Leroy Comrie told The Gleaner that whether or not New York state will have to sign off on the change by the city is still being debated.

“One school of thought is that the state will have to ratify the move, while another opinion is that the state does not have to ratify it. This is still being debated,” he said

The new legislation will not take effect until 2023, when municipal elections are due.