8 States Will Vote on Measures That Outright Ban Non-Citizens from Voting

Eight states will go to the polls Tuesday to decide on voting measures that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote.

The ballot measures in Iowa, Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Missouri and Wisconsin come after House Republicans passed a bill over the summer that would require proof of citizenship to vote. This bill was not passed by the Senate.

Some municipalities allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, e.g. Washington, DC and several in Maryland, Vermont and California. A New York law allowing non-citizens to vote was struck down in court earlier this year.

A wave of referendums on non-citizen voting began in North Dakota in 2018, when the state constitution was amended to change the language from “every citizen” to “only a citizen” regarding voting rights.

Voters in FloridaColorado and Alabama passed identical language changes in the 2020 elections. Ohio and Louisiana followed suit in 2022.

Although non-citizens vote in federal elections is illegal, Republicans argue there are no adequate enforcement measures in place, and such illegal voting could affect the outcome of the presidential election.

Iowa

The Iowa state constitution currently sets the voting age at 21, but the state follows the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which sets the voting age at 18.

The proposed amendment to the state constitution provides that “only a citizen of the United States over the age of eighteen years,” changing both the age and the existing language from “every citizen” to “only a citizen.” The amendment would also specify that only those living in the state could vote in its elections.

A federal judge ruled Sunday that he will not block Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate’s challenge to the votes of some 2,200 suspected noncitizens.

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The ACLU of Iowa filed the lawsuit on behalf of four naturalized citizens whose registration was challenged.

Pate required any potential noncitizen on his list to vote with a provisional ballot and return to the county auditor’s office with proof of citizenship for the votes to be counted.

new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll a report released Saturday showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump by three percentage points in the state, 47% to 44%.

North Carolina

Republican-led North Carolina Legislature passed a bill introducing an amendment that would change the state constitution’s voting requirements.

The document currently states that “every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized” can vote in North Carolina as long as they are over 18 years of age and a U.S. resident. The amendment would change the text to state that “only a citizen of the United States” may vote if he or she meets other requirements.

North Carolina does not require proof of citizenship to vote, but does require people to swear that they are citizens and otherwise eligible to vote or risk being charged with a felony for perjury.

North Carolina is one of seven key swing states in the presidential election.

South Carolina

Likewise, the voting measure in South Carolina would change the state constitution to specify that “only a citizen of the United States and of this state” who is at least 18 years of age and “duly registered” may vote. It currently states that “every citizen” who meets other requirements may vote.

“This does not make it more difficult for a legal voter in the state to vote, but it does make clear that in South Carolina we will not be subject to lawsuits from groups that encourage non-citizens to vote in elections anywhere in the state,” State Senator Josh Kimbrell, the bill’s lead sponsor, said. establishing this measure, said local news publication.

“We’ve had numerous lawsuits across the United States in various jurisdictions where some courts have supported municipal governments or school boards giving voting rights to those who are in this country illegally,” Kimbrell said. “We want to remove any ambiguity in South Carolina.”

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Wisconsin

Republican-led Wisconsin Legislature voted to add a non-citizen voting measure to the November ballot to amend the state constitution to say that “only” U.S. citizens 18 years of age or older can vote, rather than “every” citizen 18 years of age or older.

Idaho

Currently, the Idaho Constitution states that “every citizen of the United States, male or female” who meets certain age and residence requirements, has the right to vote in the state. The referendum would explicitly amend the state constitution to state that non-citizens are prohibited from voting in any state election.

Kentucky

Election measure in Kentucky proposes an addition to the state constitution stating: “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be permitted to vote in this State.”

Currently, the state constitution states: “Every citizen of the United States, aged eighteen years, having resided in the State one year, and in the county six months, and the polling station at which he proposes to vote, for the sixty days following before the elections. , should be a voter in this precinct and not anywhere else.”

Missouri

If successful, Missouri’s ballot measure would change the state constitution to say “only citizens of the United States” can vote in elections. It currently states that “all citizens of the United States” over the age of 18 and those who reside in Missouri “have the right to vote in all elections.”

However, the amendment would also ban ranked choice voting, which allows voters to rank their chosen candidates by order or preference. Experts believe such a system tends to favor moderates.

Oklahoma

The Republican-dominated state Legislature has a bill on the ballot this year that would change the state constitution to say that “only” instead of “all” citizens who reside in the state and are over 18 years of age are “eligible” to vote.

Ministry of Justice last week sued Virginia Republican Governor Glenn YankinUS administration to remove from the voter rolls people who were identified as non-citizens and were unable to prove their citizenship within a two-week grace period. The state said it had removed 6,000 people from its rolls who were ineligible for the program.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in August that more than 6,500 potential noncitizens have been removed from the state’s voter rolls since 2021. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose also said in August that he cited 138 apparent noncitizens who were found to have voted in recent elections. for the accusation.

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Moreover, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen reported that 3,251 people previously identified by the federal government as noncitizens were removed from the state’s voter registration rolls.