Group pushing to expand voting rights for immigrant taxpayers in city, BK

Voters in Brooklyn's 40th District will head to the polls for Tuesday's City Council election, but one group claims as many as 45,000 residents won't be able to participate.The New York Coalition to Expand

News 12 Staff

Feb 20, 2007, 12:19 AM

Updated 6,438 days ago

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Voters in Brooklyn's 40th District will head to the polls for Tuesday's City Council election, but one group claims as many as 45,000 residents won't be able to participate.The New York Coalition to Expand Voting Rights is pushing to re-introduce the Voting Rights Restoration Act. The bill would give legal non-citizens who have lived in the city at least six months the right to vote in municipal elections.New York City law states that citizens can cast a ballot in city elections. Some local leaders are calling it taxation without representation. They say immigrant workers contribute more than $18 billion a year in state income taxes, but they have no say on how the money is used.The coalition is made up of 65 organizations, labor unions, government groups and advocates.