The New York City Council has put together a veto-proof supermajority in favor of granting municipal voting rights to authorized residents of the city who are not citizens. The approximately 800,000 people in the five boroughs who either hold a green card or have been granted deferred action status by US immigration authorities will be allowed to vote for city councilors, municipal ballot questions, and the mayor – but not for state officials or ballot questions or for federal officials. Mayor Bill de Blasio has expressed doubt about the legality of the decision, but has acknowledged that he will not veto it. The city council expects its decision to be challenged in the courts. 

Image Credit: Naoki Hiroshima (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)