Dear John,

Two years ago, we made history: on December 9, 2021, the New York City Council passed Municipal Voting law (Local Law 11-2022), which restored voting rights for ALL permanent residents and New Yorkers with work authorization who meet the residency requirements. This historic moment was the result of the culminated advocacy and community education led by many of our coalition members. Local Law 11 opened the door for more than 1.2 million eligible New Yorkers to fully participate in decisions about the communities where they live, work and raise their families.

These New Yorkers would have been able to vote in this past November’s general election, which would have been the first modern New York City general election to allow for non-citizen voting, if not for the frivolous lawsuits put forward by a group of New York Republicans.

Soon after Local Law 11 passed into law, Republicans sued New York City, declaring it unconstitutional. However, we know that the real goal of their actions is to do what they have done all over the country—disenfranchise voters of color at the ballot box. This lawsuit has halted the implementation of this bill until the case is resolved by the courts.

Oral arguments from The City of New York’s appeal of the original decision began this past June. We expect a final outcome anytime now.

New Yorkers have been denied a local voice on the issues that affect them and on how their tax dollars are spent for far too long. We will not let those who want to stifle democracy stop us from fighting for our rights! 

Thank you for joining us in this fight. We couldn’t have come this far without our members, allies, and supporters like you.

Murad Awawdeh
Executive Director