Last Wednesday, Senate Republicans employed the filibuster to block legislation that would have restored provisions from the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 and made it easier for most voters to participate in elections, including by expanding early voting, same-day registration, and mail-in balloting.

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As New York City modeled last December, however, when the City Council established provisions granting non-citizens the right to participate in municipal elections if they meet residency requirements, local governments can step in to strengthen democracy where the federal government fails to do so.
 
New York City’s example is particularly instructive for places like Buffalo that benefit from large and growing immigrant populations. Indeed, while Buffalo celebrates its first-in-seven-decades population growth, which was ostensibly made possible by immigrants and refugees, it denies those residents the ability to participate in municipal elections to help shape the government of the city they are currently helping to revitalize. But this affront to the core democratic principle of being included in collective decisions that affect one’s life is not unchangeable – as our counterparts downstate have so clearly demonstrated – nor has it always been standard practice.

To read the full article on The Buffalo News' website, click here.