Eight States Pass Measures Banning Non-Citizens from Voting
On Tuesday, eight states approved ballot measures prohibiting non-citizens from voting in state and local elections. The move comes amid growing debate as states like California, Vermont, and Maryland have granted non-citizens the ability to vote in certain local elections.
The eight states that passed new measures on Tuesday include Kentucky, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, Idaho, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. According to NBC News, the measures passed by significant margins.
Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin modified existing constitutional language from terms like “every citizen” or “all citizens” to specify that “only” citizens may vote. Meanwhile, Idaho and Kentucky amended their constitutions to state explicitly that “no person who is not a citizen of the United States” can vote.
Jack Tomczak, Vice President of Americans for Citizen Voting, explained in a statement to The Daily Caller, “What these amendments do is prevent cities from legalizing non-citizen voting, they don’t prevent citizens from voting in elections, whether a state requires an ID to vote or not, and they don’t dissuade people from voting unless that person is a non-citizen.”
Earlier this year, states such as Colorado, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio, and Alabama amended their state constitutions to restrict voting to citizens only. This recent wave of measures seeks to solidify the distinction between citizen and non-citizen voting rights, particularly at a time where voter identification has been a contentious issue. States such as California, New York, and Oregon currently do not require identification for in-person voting.
