New Bill Aims to Give Voting Rights to Illegal Immigrants in NYC

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By Cathy Burke | Monday, 22 Feb 2016 08:16 AM

New legislation is reportedly being pushed to give illegal immigrants the right to vote in New York City's elections next year.

The New York Post reports Bertha Lewis, head of the Black Institute — part of a coalition of immigration-rights groups making the push — says a bill is expected to be introduced this spring.

"We want to expand the right to vote for everybody, not suppress the vote," Lewis said, the Post reports. "What a radical idea."

There are an estimated 1.3 million noncitizen residents in the city, about 500,000 of whom are undocumented. Neither group is allowed to vote.

Lewis sees such legislation as as an extension of Mayor Bill de Blasio's Municipal ID card offered to all residents — including those who are undocumented, the Post said.

"People want to come out of the shadows," she said, adding: "There will be a lot of support for it in the City Council. We want people to participate in civic life and be invested in what happens. It will lead to a healthier community."

But New York state's Conservative Party chairman, Mike Long, called the idea "outrageous," and charged liberals may be behind the effort to boost Democratic Party enrollment and "buy votes," the Post reports.


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