Washington, DC (CNN) A bill that would expand voting rights to some immigrants who are not US citizens was introduced Thursday in the New York City Council.

City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, is sponsoring the legislation, which would give the right to vote in municipal elections to New York residents who are legal permanent residents or have a work authorization.

Nearly one million New York City residents cannot vote in local elections because they are not citizens, according to Rodriguez's office, despite paying taxes and being invested in and contributing to the city.

"I believe it is important to include those individuals that we have left out of the process... They deserve to live in a real democracy where they also have the opportunity to vote in municipal elections," Rodriguez said.

The issue is personal for Rodriguez, who first came to the United States in 1983 with a green card. He obtained full citizenship status in 2000. In the years in between, the New York City lawmaker says he worked washing dishes, in a factory and as a taxi driver and contributed to the city through taxes, but was unable to civically participate in elections.

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