At a press briefing in Staten Island, Representative Nicole Malliotakis announced that she had acquired a portion of the agreement between New York City’s Department of Social Services and Homes for the Homeless (HFH) through a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request.
The contract appendix stipulated HFH provide voter registration paperwork to migrant residents residing in emergency shelters erected amidst the deepening border crisis.
Additionally, contractors were required to help migrants register to vote, as well as circulate campaign materials within shelter premises.
“This is the smoking gun that proves what we’ve been saying all along, that the city intends to register noncitizens to vote, and even those who are residing in these migrant shelters for just 30 days,” Malliotakis said per FOX News. “It is extremely concerning. It should be concerning to every citizen.”
In an X post, Malliotakis wrote, “My office has uncovered #NYC’s secret scheme to potentially register tens of thousands of migrants to vote in our elections. Take a look at this contract between HFH NYC, the “non-profit” that kicked out seniors to house migrants, & the City of New York.”
🚨 NEWS: My office has uncovered #NYC's secret scheme to potentially register tens of thousands of migrants to vote in our elections. Take a look at this contract between @HFH_NYC, the "non-profit" that kicked out seniors to house migrants, & the City of New York ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Hr1Vzx17fw
— Office of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (@RepMalliotakis) December 3, 2023
“There is nothing more important than preserving the integrity of our election system,” Malliotakis said in a statement.
“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 City better not be acting in violation of the judge’s ruling that struck down the noncitizen voting law that would have allowed 800,000 noncitizens with a Green Card or Work Authorization and who have resided in New York City for 30 days, to vote. The only thing that may be stopping the registration of these noncitizens is our lawsuit that halted the law from taking effect, but it’s very disturbing that in their own contracts, the City is requiring contractors to distribute registration forms while prohibiting them from asking citizenship status.”
Contractors who routinely interact with the public as part of their daily operations are required, by the regulations specified in the detailed contract appendix, to provide voter registration forms provided by the city. The contractors must be ready to give forms in Spanish or Chinese and obtain an adequate quantity of such forms from the city.
According to the FY14 Discretionary Contract:
Distribution of Voter Registration Forms
In accordance with Charter § 1057-a, the Contractor, if a contractor having regular contact with the public in the daily administration of its business under this Agreement, hereby agrees as follows:
(1) The Contractor shall provide and distribute voter registration forms to all persons together with written applications for services, renewal or recertification for services and change of address relating to such services. Such voter registration forms shall be provided to the Contractor by the City. The Contractor should be prepared to provide forms written in Spanish or Chinese, and shall obtain a sufficient supply of such forms from the City.
(2) The Contractor shall also include a voter registration form with any Contractor communication sent through the United States mail for the purpose of supplying clients with application, renewal or recertification for services and change of address relating to such services materials. If forms written in Spanish or Chinese are not provided in such mailing, the Contractor shall provide such forms upon request.
(3) The Contractor shall, subject to approval by the Department, incorporate an opportunity to request a voter registration application into any application for services, renewal or recertification for services and change of address relating to such services provided on computer terminals, the World Wide Web or the Internet. Any person indicating that they wish to be sent a voter registration form, via computer terminals, the World Wide Web or the Internet shall be sent such a form by the Contractor or be directed, in a manner subject to approval by the Department, to a bank on that system where such a form may be downloaded.
(4) The Contractor shall, at the earliest practicable or next regularly scheduled printing of its own forms, subject to approval by the Department, physically incorporate the voter registration forms with its own application forms in a manner that permits the voter registration portion to be detached therefrom. Until such time when the Contractor amends its form, the Contractor should affix or include a postage paid New York City Board of Elections voter registration form to or with its application, renewal, recertification and change of address forms.
(5) The Contractor shall prominently display in its public office, subject to approval by the Department, promotional materials designed and approved by the New York City or New York State Board of Elections.
(6) For the purposes of Part A of this article, the word “contractor” shall be deemed to include subcontractors having regular contract with the public in the daily administration of their business.
(7) The provisions of Part A of this article shall not apply to services that must be provided to prevent actual or potential danger to life, health or safety of any individual or of the public.
Assistance in Completing Forms
In accordance with Charter § 1057-a, the Contractor hereby agrees as follows:
(1) In the event the Department provides assistance in completing distributed voter registration forms, the Contractor shall also provide such assistance, in the manner and to the extent specified by the Department.
(2) In the event the Department receives and transmits completed registration forms from applicants who wish to have the forms transmitted to the New York City Board of Elections, the Contractor shall similarly provide such service, in the manner and to the extent specified by the Department.
(3) If, in connection with the provision of services under this Agreement, the Contractor intends to provide assistance in completing distributed voter registration forms or to receive and transmit completed registration forms from applicants who wish to have the forms transmitted to the New York City Board of Elections, the Contractor shall do so only by prior arrangement with the Department.
(4) The provision of Part B services by the Contractor may be subject to Department protocols, including one on confidentiality.
Despite allegations, officials from New York City’s Department of Social Services have refuted Malliotakis’s assertions. They maintain that the contested contract section applies exclusively to “eligible clients” who are U.S. citizens housed in shelters.
“These allegations are both incorrect and unfounded. DHS has a legal mandate to insert voter registration-related language in shelter contracts, which is applicable solely to citizens who are eligible. This does not extend to asylum seekers housed in shelters,” a spokesperson told FOX News.
“As our teams continue to provide vital case-management services to connect asylum seekers to supports to help them move out of shelter, we strongly caution against lending any credence to such dangerous misrepresentations of the City’s response to this humanitarian crisis,” it added.
Following the 2021 City Council statute, which allowed noncitizen residents to vote in municipal elections, being overruled by a state judge, a lawsuit was filed including Malliotakis as one of the plaintiffs.
This ruling has sparked an appeal from the city and migrants’ rights advocacy groups.
“The right to vote is a sacred right given only to U.S. citizens, & certainly not to those who crossed our border illegally & came to NYC last month. After we sued, a judge ruled noncitizen voting unconstitutional & NYC Mayor must respect the decision!” Malliotakis wrote.
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