Perspectives: Should Non-citizens Be Allowed to Vote?

New York City just cleared the way for nearly 900,000 non-citizens to vote in elections for mayor, city council and other local offices. Should the rest of the country follow suit?

Under the new rule, which is scheduled to take effect in January 2023, a person must live in the city for 30 days to qualify. Several places, such as San Francisco, already allow non-citizens to vote in some elections. Other places, such as North Dakota and Arizona, bar noncitizens from voting. Some legal experts say New York state's Constitution awards voting rights only to citizens. Mayor Bill de Blasio won't veto the decision but has mentioned "big legal questions" about the law and the need for "maximum incentive to finish the citizenship process." The bill’s primary sponsor says it will force politicians "to spend the same amount of time in the communities affected by this legislation as they do in upper-class neighborhoods." The state's Republican Party is planning action against the law.

Some opinions from left-rated sources praised the move as inclusive and legal, and called on other cities to adopt similar rules. Right-rated outlets often highlighted legal doubts; one columnist called the measure "a form of national suicide." Other reports from the right focused on a senator's threat to pull federal funding from New York and cities with similar laws. One writer for New York Daily News (Left bias) argued that New York should switch to an open primary to allow votes from its nearly 1 million citizens who aren't registered with a political party.