Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) joined local officials to sound the alarm on a New York City contract stipulation she said could lead to the voter registration of thousands of noncitizens.
The contract is between New York City and Homes for the Homeless, which described itself as a shelter providing services to families in New York City. Malliotakis said Homes for the Homeless also operates a migrant shelter on Father Capodanno Boulevard on Staten Island where a retirement home used to operate.
ALL EYES ON ARIZONA’S KYRSTEN SINEMA FOR 2024 DECISION WITH SENATE CONTROL IN THE BALANCE
The congresswoman said a page in the contract required the group to distribute voter registration information to people it was in regular contact with, and she said those people included illegal immigrants.
“The City is requiring migrant shelter contractors to distribute voter registration cards, assist migrants in registering to vote, and promote campaign material within the shelters themselves,” Malliotakis said in a press release.
“There is nothing more important than preserving the integrity of our election system,” she said. “The right to vote is a sacred right given only to United States citizens, and certainly not one provided to those who crossed over our border illegally and made their way to New York City last month.”
The Department of Social Services rejected Malliotakis’s notion.
“These allegations are false and baseless. DHS is legally required to include language around voter registration in shelter contracts and this guidance applies only to eligible clients who are citizens, and would clearly not apply to asylum seekers in shelter,” a social services spokesperson said.
“Instead of helping the City’s emergency response to this ongoing crisis, it is deeply troubling to see an elected representative actively working to spread misinformation and hurt the integrity of the efforts of countless city workers and frontline staff who have been working tirelessly to ensure the delivery of critical services for vulnerable asylum seekers.”
The spokesperson added, “We strongly caution against lending any credence to such dangerous misrepresentations of the City’s response to this humanitarian crisis.”
The spokesperson said workers at the shelter in question were not distributing voter registration material to asylum-seekers or registering them to vote.
The legal standing of Malliotakis’s complaint was dependent upon a local law in legal limbo.
In June 2022, a New York state judge struck down a law that allowed hundreds of thousands of noncitizen residents in the city to vote in local elections, according to Reuters. However, the city appealed the ruling.
“The City believes that the judge erred in finding that the law was inconsistent with the State Constitution, Election Law, and the Municipal Home Rule Law, and is hopeful that the appellate court will reverse this erroneous ruling,” a release from the city read.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Homes for the Homeless said it “provides NYC families experiencing homelessness with more than just a place to sleep. On any given day nearly 610 families with 750 children ages 0 to 18 reside in safe, clean shelters — our family residences. These family residences provide a host of services focused on HFH’s three pillars: education, employment, and social services designed to meet the immediate and ongoing needs of both parents and children.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Homes for the Homeless for comment.
