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After the passage of a bill passed last year in New York City will allow immigrants living there for as little as thirty days to vote in the city’s elections (not federal or state elections). Outgoing Mayor Bill DeBlasio didn’t sign or veto the bill before leaving, so it’s up to newly installed Democratic Mayor Eric Adams to determine its fate. Julia Marsh at the New York Post reports that Adams is having a hard time with the bill’s lenient terms for immigrant voting. She writes:
Mayor Adams expressed reservations about a controversial bill passed under his predecessor that grants green card holders the right to vote in local elections.
“We’re going to look at the bill,” Adams told reporters Saturday at a press conference in Queens during his first day in office.
“One part of the bill I’m concerned about, the 30-day part. If someone is in the city for 30 days, they have the right to vote. That’s problematic to me,” said Adams, who had previously supported the legislation passed by a large majority of the City Council early last month.
People will be required to reside in the five boroughs for at least 30 days to be able to vote.
“I understand the importance of local elections but to give that power to someone that’s here for 30 days, I think that’s problem. And I need to, in the next couple of days, make a determination of what we’re going to do,” Adams said.
