A ballot initiative designed to further protect abortion access in New York State could be a “Trojan horse” to let illegal immigrants vote in statewide elections, a civil rights attorney is warning.

In November, voters will consider Proposition 1, or the Equal Rights Amendment, which expands protections in New York’s constitution to prevent discrimination or a denial of civil rights based on a series of factors, including “ethnicity, national origin” or “pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare.”

While the focus of the amendment has been on its anti-discrimination language and protections for abortion access, a civil rights attorney, Bobbie Anne Cox, says it could have unintended consequences.

Ms. Cox focused on the language about “national origin,” telling The National Desk: “National origin means the place that you came from other than the United States.”

“If you’re now saying in our constitution that every single person in New York State has a constitutional right to not be discriminated against, you’re opening the door for that argument of ‘Well, even people that are not from this country should have the right to vote if we’re talking about being equal and being fair and not discriminating,’” she said. 

Supporters of the amendment say such warnings about the proposal are false. The co-director of policy at the New York Civil Liberties Union, Katharine Bodde, tells the Sun, “Prop 1 does nothing to change voter qualifications related to citizenship status. Equality protections have never been used to enfranchise new groups of people — and further, voter citizenship qualifications are governed by a completely separate part of the New York State constitution.”

“Anyone saying otherwise is trying to divide and distract voters from what Prop 1 is about: protecting abortion and preventing government discrimination, permanently,” she added.

The concern about possibly opening the door to noncitizen voting in New York comes amid a surge in illegal border crossings on America’s northern border. The Swanton Sector, the stretch of the northern border between eastern New York and New Hampshire, saw more illegal border crossings in the last 12 months than the previous 17 years combined, according to Border Patrol officials. 

In an interview with the public radio station at Albany, New York, WAMC, state lawmakers called for the legislature to repeal its Green Light Law due to the surge in northern border crossings. The law lets illegal immigrants apply for driver’s licenses without showing that they are in the state legally. It also prevents the Department of Motor Vehicles from sharing records with federal immigration agencies. 

New York has already tried one experiment in noncitizen voting. The New York City Council passed a law in 2022 allowing noncitizens to vote in city elections. However, the law was ruled unconstitutional by the Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department in New York. The city council is appealing the ruling.

While proponents of Proposition 1 insist the measure is focused solely on preventing discrimination and protecting abortion access, critics say the impacts could be much more far-reaching due to the broad language in it.

Republicans say the measure’s inclusion of protections for “gender identity” could enshrine the ability of biological males to compete in women’s sports or set up the passage of laws that prevent parents from intervening if their children seek transgender treatments. 

Additionally, conservatives have suggested the amendment could require biological males to be able to use a women’s bathroom, be housed in a women’s prison, or set the stage for an irreversible plan for reparations for slavery. 

Republicans have also pointed out that the word abortion does not appear in Proposition 1 even though its supporters say that is the main focus of the measure.