We applaud media mogul John Catsimatidis’s suggestion that U.S. Immigration and Enforcement and Customs Enforcement (ICE) be employed to scare off illegal aliens from voting. The owner of the WABC radio station and political activist recently put forward the idea that ICE should declare that it will police voting sites and arrest any illegals it identifies.
While it is generally unlawful for non-citizens to vote in federal or state elections in the United States, the administration of elections are ordinarily in the purview of state and local election officials and ICE normally focuses on enforcing federal laws governing border control, customs and immigration.
So even though ICE is authorized to address criminality and illegal immigration in particular, the Catsimatidis proposal is also somewhat creative if entirely consistent with ICE’s mission. And we are reminded of the famous quip attributed to the notorious bank robber Willy Sutton, who when asked why he robbed banks, responded, “Because that’s where the money is.”
Nor should we ignore what’s in play in the non-citizen voting issue.
In 2021, the hard leftist majority in the New York City Council passed a law that would have entitled non-citizens to vote in certain municipal elections. Green card holders and others living in New York City with federal work authorization would have been allowed to vote in primary and general elections for such offices as mayor, public advocate, city council seats and borough presidencies.
In an instant the law made about 800,000 non-citizens eligible to vote and the impact on NYC local elections would have been profound given the fact that the city has just under five million registered voters – and even less active voters – and a major effort to register the immigrants could reshape politics in New York, according to Politico.
But the tale lies in the fact that the law was passed notwithstanding that it flies directly in the face of the plain language of the NYS Constitution, the NYS Election Law and the NYS Municipal Home Rule Law.
The Constitution states that “every citizen shall be entitled to vote.”
The election law says that “[no] person shall be qualified to register for and vote at any election unless he is a citizen of the United States.”
And the home rule law states that any changes to election laws must be passed by the state legislature or by voter referendum and not by local legislature.
In fact, in a lawsuit brought to challenge the law, the trial court, the appellate division and the Court of Appeals – New York’s highest court – threw the law out on these very grounds citing what they said was the plain language and meaning of the applicable legal provisions.
Still the left did not accept the result. The Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition decried the Court of Appeals ruling saying that “[w]hile we are still reviewing the decision and its impact on immigrant New Yorkers, the lawsuit remains another shameful attempt by xenophobic Republicans who would disenfranchise residents rather than promote a more inclusive and participatory democracy. Immigrant New Yorkers deserve a say in how their local government functions and spends their tax money and we remain committed to ensuring the expansion of voting rights.”
Plainly, for that crowd, it is of no moment what the laws or tradition may require. What counts is whether the results work for you.
So, we think that maximum effort must be made to protect the integrity of the ballot from the relentless zealotry of the left and it seems to us that ICE is a natural resource.
Bravo Mr. Catsimatidis.