New York becomes the first US city to allow foreigners to vote in municipal elections

Her city council New York approved in the last few hours a law that allows foreign residents of the metropolis to vote in local elections. It is, in fact, their first big city USA who makes such a decision.

The local law, passed with 33 votes in favor, 14 against and two abstentions, will allow “permanent residents” and “persons holding work permits in USA»And reside in New York without having US citizenship to “vote in municipal elections.”

Many Democrats in the city council expressed satisfaction with this “historic” decision, as well as organizations defending the rights of immigrants.

The measure concerns about 1 million foreigners living in New York, out of the total 9 million inhabitants of the big city.

The cultural and economic capital of USA, fort of Democrats and the progressives, has adopted this measure while the issue of minority voting and their exclusion from this right is constantly returning to the public debate.

In recent months, several US states have invoked baseless allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election to pass laws that critics say are intended to restrict the voting rights of ethnic and racial minorities.

At the end of his term, o Democratic its mayor New York, The Bill de Blasio, did not hide that she had doubts about whether her city New York has the jurisdiction to decide without the authorities of the homonymous state giving voting rights to its foreign residents, assuring that it would not oppose the decision if it were approved.

If it is actually implemented, its foreign residents New York will be able to participate in the municipal elections from 2023.

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