MEDIA ADVISORY: CAIR-NY ‘Disappointed’ with Court Decision Invalidating Municipal Voting Law, Civil Rights Group Vows to Appeal
(NEW YORK, NY, 6/27/2022)—The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today expressed disappointment with today’s Richmond County Supreme Court decision that overturned municipal voting law (Law 11-2022) that granted legal permanent residents and those with work authorization the right to vote in municipal elections.
MEDIA ADVISORY: CAIR-NY representatives, immigrant advocates and elected officials plan to gather at City Hall at 3:30 P.M. TODAY for a press conference responding to the ruling.
In a statement, Ahmed Mohamed, Legal Director at CAIR-New York, said:
"CAIR-NY is deeply disappointed by the court’s decision to invalidate Local Law 11—a law that represented the largest enfranchisement of voters in our city’s history in over a century. We believe this case was wrongly decided, and the decision strikes at the core of our democracy and values as a city of immigrants.
“CAIR-NY and our legal partners will appeal this decision, and we are confident that the appellate courts will restore the right to vote for all immigrant New Yorkers enfranchised by Local Law 11. CAIR-NY and the thousands of Muslim New Yorkers impacted are not deterred and remain firm in our commitment to immigrant voting rights."
READ: Richmond County Supreme Court Decision Invalidating Municipal Voting Law
The law had been challenged in court earlier this year by Staten Island Borough President Vito J. Fossella and others, who claimed that it is unconstitutional. In response, CAIR-NY, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP filed a motion to intervene in Fossella’s lawsuit.
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CAIR-NY’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR-NY es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: Afaf Nasher, Esq. Executive Director, 917-669-4006, anasher@cair.com; Ahmed Mohamed, CAIR-NY Legal Director, 646-481-2103, ahmedmohamed@cair.com