Niagara County Legislature votes unanimously in favor of lawsuit challenging 'Green Light' law

The Niagara County Legislature on Tuesday voted unanimously in favor of a resolution that will authorize a state lawsuit challenging the the Driver's License Access and Privacy Act, also known as the  “Green Light” law.

The “Green Light” law, among other things, allows undocumented immigrants access to a state driver’s license. The legislature’s GOP members said the law also forbids cooperation with federal authorities, which the legislators and County Clerk Joseph Jastrzemski said will require DMV officials to violate federal law.

Republican members of the Niagara County Legislature held a press conference before the legislative meeting to announce that the county will engage counsel and commence litigation challenging the state’s “Green Light” law.

Niagara County Legislator Rebecca Wydysh, who is the resolution’s lead sponsor, expounded on her rationale for the lawsuit.

“This decision is to preserve the sanctity of our election process and ultimately our democracy,” she said. “I believe that Gov. Cuomo and his supporters have gone far beyond their rights as state representatives, by failing to properly assess the dangerous impact the ‘Green Light’ law will have,” she said.

Legislature Chairman Keith McNall raised concerns about what he called a strong likelihood for voter fraud.

“It would be a tragic result to have voter participation diluted by votes cast by non-citizens, and it is for this reason that I am directing Niagara County Attorney Claude Joerg to begin litigation to have the ‘Green Light’ law declared unconstitutional.”