A proposal to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections in New York "could certainly change the balance of power, not just in citywide elections, but also in neighborhoods" with large populations of illegal immigrants, New York City Republican Councilman Joe Borelli told Newsmax.
The New York Supreme Court recently heard arguments from Democrat lawyers to allow non-citizens to vote, which could result in more than 800,000 documented non-citizens casting their ballots in local elections in the Empire State. If the court allows it to move forward, a 15% change in voter demographics could result which could play a major role in determining elections.
"This is essentially the goal of what the proponents of this want to do and the downstream impact will be that this group of people will have an outsized voice in the finances and laws of New York City," Borelli, who is a plaintiff on the lawsuit, told "National Report" Wednesday.
"The thing we got to remember, though, is that the New York State constitution is very clear on this. This is why two lower courts have found in our favor. The constitution says that every citizen over 18 is allowed to vote in municipal elections. It's clear as day.
"The second provision is that when a municipality like New York City is going to change any type of election regulations, they have to do so in a public referendum," he said. "That didn't happen here because, of course, even in lefty liberal woke New York, the majority of people who vote in a referendum would not actually support this. That's kind of the pickle that the proponents are in right now."
Borelli said the New York City Board of Elections has testified if the non-citizen voting proposal takes effect "there would be no way to really verify who would be voting."
"Our Board of Elections is a bipartisan entity made up of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats and they have also said that, 'Hey, this is not a very effective way to be able to verify who's voting,'" he said. "But I don't even think it's about the voter fraud aspect of it. This is really just to give people who are here illegally, or those who came here legally, but overstayed their welcome … a greater voice in city government and pull New York City even further to the left. That's the problem that New Yorkers should really have.
"If these people are able to vote, they'll be able to vote for things that regular New Yorkers can vote for, including how we spend $115 billion of taxpayer money," he continued. "We saddle future generations of our city residents with our debt and this would only probably add to that if this group continues to seek more benefits and more opportunities for their own folks."
He also disputes the argument that non-citizens should be able to vote in local elections because they pay taxes.
"Some of them are and some of them aren't," Borelli said. "That's not the point. You pay taxes in New Jersey if you go there to buy a car or something like that. Me, as a New Yorker, I don't get to vote in New Jersey elections."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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