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The New York City Council approved on Thursday, by a vote of 33 to 14, the granting of voting rights to immigrants with a green card or work permit, a measure that will add approximately 900,000 people to the city’s electoral roll.
After four previous attempts over the course of twelve years, progressives have finally succeeded in passing the bill.
With this measure, non-American citizens residing in New York will be able to vote to elect their mayor and councilmen, as well as county attorneys, the comptroller and the ombudsman.
The list of those who will be able to vote in the local elections includes the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, known as “Dreamers”, and immigrants who benefit from Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
To register to vote, according to the measure, non-citizens must have lived in the city for 30 days, a detail that generated intense controversy until Council President Corey Johnson imposed his vote. This means that people with a Green Card will be able to move to the city a month before the elections and vote.
