Officials disputed claims from a GOP lawmaker who said she found evidence of NYC trying to register illegal immigrants.
A Republican lawmaker who represents a district in New York City claims she has found a “smoking gun,” in what she describes as an attempt to register illegal immigrants to vote, although the city disputes her claims.
“My office has uncovered [New York City’s] secret scheme to potentially register tens of thousands of migrants to vote in our elections,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) wrote on X, formerly Twitter, pointing to a contract between a nonprofit group and the city.
🚨 NEWS: My office has uncovered #NYC's secret scheme to potentially register tens of thousands of migrants to vote in our elections. Take a look at this contract between @HFH_NYC, the "non-profit" that kicked out seniors to house migrants, & the City of New York ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Hr1Vzx17fw
— Office of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (@RepMalliotakis) December 3, 2023
“The right to vote is a sacred right given only to U.S. citizens, & certainly not to those who crossed our border illegally & came to NYC last month. After we sued, a judge ruled noncitizen voting unconstitutional & @NYCMayor must respect the decision!”
Ms. Malliotakis said in a news conference on Dec. 3 that the contract wasn’t publicly available until now, when it was obtained through a state Freedom of Information Law request. The three-year contract is valued at $28 million and stipulates an agreement with the city and the organization Homes for the Homeless to operate a shelter in Midland Beach, she said.
The contract, she added, stipulates that the nonprofit “shall provide and distribute voter registration forms to all persons.” The forms are available in Chinese and Spanish.
The document also stated that the nonprofit contract “shall not inquire about a client or potential client’s immigration status” unless it’s relevant to the services being rendered.
“On page 50 of this contract, there is an entire section dedicated to voter registration,” the congresswoman stated at the news conference. “We believe this is the smoking gun that proves what we’ve been saying all along—that the city intends to register non-citizens to vote,” she said, referring to the document that was posted to her X account.
It’s unclear if the language for shelter services is standard for the city’s contracts.
In 2021, the New York City Council approved a measure that would allow non-permanent residents and other legal non-residents to qualify to vote in citywide elections. However, that was struck down by a judge in Staten Island last year.
