Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who represents a district that covers parts of eastern Brooklyn and southwestern Queens in Congress, expressed support Tuesday for a bill passed by the New York City Council allowing hundreds of thousands of noncitizens to vote in local elections.
“The legislation that passed the city council would permit legal permanent residents to be able to vote in municipal elections,” Jeffries, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters. “And the law permits a city to make that determination. We, of course, exist in a system of federalism. New York City has made that determination. It’s a determination that I fully support.”
The measure, which would affect green card holders and those with work authorizations and was approved by the city council last week, doesn’t include state or federal elections, and people in the country illegally would not be allowed to vote, according to FOX 5 in New York City.
The city would be the largest to allow noncitizens to vote, extending the privilege to roughly 800,000 people.
