New York Grants Foreigners Voting Rights In Municipal Elections- Know More

New York City Council on December 9 passed historic legislation allowing immigrants who are not US citizens to vote in local elections and became the first major city in the United States to do so.

Several elected Democrats on the city council welcomed the historic vote and the associations for the defence of immigrant rights. The legislation came when debates on immigration and voting rights raged in the country.

The legislation is said to take effect from 2023, as per a report in The New Indian Express.

Do India Allow Non-Citizens To Participate in Elections?

In the case of India, a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) is eligible to cast a vote, and there is an established procedure for that. But, there is no such provision when it comes to a non-citizen or a foreigner residing in India. One of the qualifications of a person to cast a vote in an election includes that he must be a citizen of India, so if a foreigner has acquired Indian citizenship and possesses a Voter ID, EPIC card, or photo identity card, then only he is eligible to cast a vote in the constituency he is registered with.

How Is It A Good Move To Give Voting Rights To Foreigners?

Whether it is about foreigners residing in New York City or Foreigners living in India as permanent residents, they will likely have their grievances against the state they reside in. On account of their being non-citizen, they might be facing some discrimination; they might agree with the views of one contestant in an election and disagree with the other.

Having lived at a place for a long time, they develop their own opinion and sense of belongingness to the place. Giving the right to participate in the election process is a way to assure them that they are being valued and their opinion can change the politics of the place. To put it in a better way, we can recall the incident of Mahatma Gandhi's role in ending the Apartheid system in South Africa.

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