New York’s top court has struck down a law that would have let noncitizens vote in New York City elections, with the court’s progressive majority overwhelmingly siding with Republicans who challenged the idea.

The law would have made more than 800,000 people eligible to vote in municipal contests such as mayoral races. //

In a decision handed down by the Court of Appeals on Thursday, the judges brushed off the Democratic argument by a 6-1 margin.

“Under that interpretation, municipalities are free to enact legislation that would enable anyone to vote – including … thirteen-year-old children,” Chief Judge Rowan Wilson wrote for the majority.

“It is plain from the language and restrictions contained in [the state constitution] that ‘citizen’ is not meant as a floor, but as a condition of voter eligibility: the franchise extends only to citizens whose right to vote is established by proper proofs,” Wilson wrote.