“The article (Article I, § 2 of the New York State Constitution) says every citizen shall be entitled to vote: “Entitled creates positive rights. It does not restrict or prohibit.'”

— Cesar Ruiz, associate counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF

(From the February 24, 2025 New York Law School – City Land article “NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update 02/24/25”)

On February 11th, the New York Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Fossella v. Adams. The appeal was requested by the New York City Council, which approved Local Law No. 11 (2022), after an appellate court ruled last February that the law violated the New York State Constitution and Municipal Home Law. Local Law No. 11 (2022) would have authorized certain non-citizens to vote in local elections, including more than 800,000 green card holders and other residents with federal work authorization. Under this law, individuals could vote for mayor, borough president, comptroller, public advocate, and council members in municipal elections.

As stated in the New York State Constitution (Article II, § 1), “Every citizen shall be entitled to vote at every election for all officers elected by the people and upon all questions submitted to the vote of the people provided that such citizen is 18 years of age or over and shall have been a resident of this state, and of the county, city, or village for 30 days next preceding an election.”

The appellate court ruled that an “irrefutable inference applies that noncitizens were intended to be excluded from those entitled to vote” because Article II, § 1 does not reference non-citizens when affording individuals with the right to vote. The court stated that “citizen” referred to a U.S. citizen for voting in municipal and statewide elections.

Read the entire article here.