Republicans moved on Monday to block recently signed legislation that will allow nearly 800,000 non-citizens cast ballots in upcoming elections in New York City.
The lawsuit was filed by the Republican National Committee in the Staten Island Supreme Court on Monday and "challenges the validity" of the new legislation.
"American elections should be decided by American citizens. If Democrats can subvert elections this flagrantly in America's largest city, they can do it anywhere," Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed.
The statement continued, "The RNC is suing to protect the integrity of our elections, and we stand ready to do the same wherever Democrats try to attack the basic security of your ballot."
The RNC statement said that the legislation "to allow foreign citizens to decide American elections is a blatant attack on election integrity and violates the state constitution which requires New York voters to be U.S. citizens."
In their statement, the RNC also noted that the amount of non-citizens that will be allowed to vote under the new law, is "larger than the margin in last year's New York Mayor Democrat primary, meaning these non-citizen votes could have swung the race to another candidate."
In a statement sent to Newsweek, New York Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy, who was named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said, "The law is clear and the ethics are even clearer: we shouldn't be allowing citizens of other nations to vote in our elections, full stop. We are only two weeks into the Adams Administration and he is already kowtowing to the radical City Council."
Langworthy continued, "This lawsuit is the only thing that will stop them from their ultimate goal of eradicating all the lines between citizens and non-citizens."
The lawsuit, which was obtained by Newsweek, stated that "This law creates a new class of persons called 'municipal voters' who are noncitizens who are either lawful permanent residents or persons authorized to work in the United States, who except for their lack of United States citizenship would be qualified to register to vote."
In December, the New York City Council passed the legislation and it was signed into law by New York City Mayor Eric Adams earlier this month.
In a statement shortly after signing the legislation, Adams said, "I believe that New Yorkers should have a say in their government, which is why I have and will continue to support this important legislation."
The statement continued, "While I initially had some concerns about one aspect of the bill, I had a productive dialogue with my colleagues in government that put those concerns at ease. I believe allowing the legislation to be enacted is by far the best choice, and look forward to bringing millions more into the democratic process."
Newsweek reached out to Adams' office for comment.
