Voting & Civic Engagement

ALERT: Court Appeal on Municipal Voting Law for Non-Citizens

At this time, non-citizens cannot vote in any New York City municipal election. An appeal filed by the City of New York, through Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council, is currently pending at the Appellate Division, Second Department to review the decision by the Richmond County Supreme Court entered on June 27, 2022.

The municipal voting law, if passed, will allow New Yorkers who meet all other voting criteria the ability to vote in city-only elections, if they have a green card or have work authorization.

The law is not in effect yet.

You cannot register to vote yet. If passed, there will be a new registration process for noncitizen voters.

If passed, under the new law, you will be eligible to vote in city elections if:

• You are a Legal Permanent Resident or have authorization to work in the U.S.
• You meet the other qualifications for registering to vote in NYC:
  • You are a NYC resident for at least 30 days;
  • You are 18 years old;
  • You are not in prison for a felony conviction;
  • New York City is the only place you are claiming the right to vote;
  • You have not been found to be mentally incompetent by a court.

Eligible noncitizens who register to vote will only be able to vote in city elections. That means you can only vote in elections for mayor, comptroller, public advocate, city council member, borough president, and citywide ballot measures. This includes primaries, and special, general, and run-off elections for city officials. Noncitizens cannot vote in state or federal elections.

If you need legal help, call our ActionNYC hotline at 800-354-0365. We can connect you to free and safe immigration legal services.

Community Boards are the first level of local government and consist of community volunteers appointed by Borough Presidents. They weigh in on matters that affect their community regarding a wide variety of issues.
For more information on community boards and to find your community board, visit the Civic Engagement Commission's Community Board page.

Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. This process is open to all New Yorkers, ages 11 and up, regardless of immigration status.

For more information on the participatory budgeting process, visit the City Council's Participatory Budgeting page and the Civic Engagement Commission's Participatory Budgeting page