Noncitizen Voting Is Illegal. Here Are the States Trying to Ban It Anyway.

This election cycle, voters in some states will be presented with a confusing question when they cast their ballot: whether to make noncitizen voting—which is already illegal—illegal.

As many as eight states have a ballot measure to amend their constitution to make voting for citizens only: Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. These amendments are intended to make it explicit that only Americans can vote in state and federal elections, even though it is already very much illegal for non-US citizens to vote (with the exception of a few jurisdictions that allow it in specific local races).

Former President Donald Trump and his allies, with the help of Elon Musk’s disinformation megaphone, have been promoting false claims of noncitizen voter fraud as part of a deep-pocketed preemptive effort to cast doubt on the electoral process and, if need be, challenge the results.

“I realized that we needed to focus on this threat of illegals voting in November because I absolutely believe that that is how [Democrats] are planning to try to steal the election this year,” Cleta Mitchell, who is behind the Election Integrity Network’s highly organized machinations to contest a Trump defeat, told Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk earlier this year.

Without providing any evidence to support her claims, Mitchell said “illegals” are being registered to vote by nonprofits “that are shepherding these migrants all over the country, getting them IDs; getting them housing, paid phone cards, and food cards; and getting them on the voter rolls.” (As I’ve explained before, there is no evidence that noncitizens are voting in significant numbers.)

Election experts have warned that these noncitizen voting ballot measures are not only unnecessary, but also risk disenfranchising voters who are naturalized citizens. A recent investigation by ProPublica, the Texas Tribune, and Votebeat identified at least 1o Americans in Texas who were mistakenly removed from voter rolls over suspicion that they were noncitizens.

Ballot measures to ban something that is already illegal can also serve as a stepping stone for the future introduction of stricter and burdensome voter registration requirements, such as asking for documentary proof of citizenship. Millions of Americans who lack a passport or birth certificate could be shut off from the electoral process as a result.

Noncitizen voting is essentially a myth. But here is where and how it will appear on the ballot in the 2024 election.

Idaho

Voting as a noncitizen in Idaho constitutes a misdemeanor. The question on voters’ ballot will look like this: “Shall Section 2, Article VI of the Constitution of the State of Idaho be amended to provide that individuals who are not citizens of the United States may not be qualified electors in any election held within the state of Idaho?” Idaho’s secretary of state, Phil McGrane, recently told the Idaho Capital Sun that his office identified—and was in the process of removing— 36 likely noncitizens on the registered voter rolls. “Out of the million-plus registered voters we started with,” he said, “we’re down to ten-thousandths of a percent in terms of this number.”

Iowa

The proposed amendment in Iowa would change language in the constitution to say “only a citizen” instead of “every citizen” is entitled to vote. In the meantime, state officials already have taken action to challenge the ballots of suspected noncitizens—a move that risks excluding eligible voters. Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, recently said his office identified 87 people who had reported not being a citizen to the state Department of Transportation and who voted in the last 12 years. The audit also reportedly found 67 registered noncitizens who didn’t cast a vote. Another 2,200 names have been flagged as potential noncitizen voters, though some may have naturalized since the time when they self-reported their status. The League of United Latin American Citizens and four naturalized citizens have since filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s program to purge suspected registered noncitizens from voter rolls, claiming the secretary of state’s list “failed to account for naturalization and is designed to facilitate the mass challenging of voters.”

Kentucky

One of two constitutional amendments on Kentucky’s ballot this election, Amendment 1 would add the following sentence to the constitution: “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be allowed to vote in this state.” Again, that is already the case. But proponents of the amendment, like Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams, insist the original text stating that “every citizen” can vote isn’t the same as saying “only citizens” can vote. Adams has admitted that he hasn’t seen any evidence of noncitizens attempting to cast a vote in elections.

Missouri

The first checkbox on Missouri’s voter registration document requires applicants to certify they’re citizens of the United States. Still, voters in the November election will see Amendment 7, a ballot measure to ban noncitizen voting (by changing “all citizens” to “only citizens” in the constitution) and simultaneously prohibit ranked-choice voting. Two residents filed a lawsuit challenging the language of the ballot measure as “unfair and inaccurate” for leading voters to think noncitizen voting isn’t already illegal in Missouri. But in August, a judge upheld the ballot language. Critics of the provision have called it “ballot candy” to trick voters into approving a ban on ranked-choice voting.

North Carolina

In June, the North Carolina General Assembly, in which Republicans have a supermajority, passed a bill to amend the language of the constitution to read that “only a citizen of the United States with the listed qualifications is entitled to vote in an election.” (Currently, it states that “every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized” has the right to do so.) Between 2015 and 2022, the North Carolina State Board of Elections documented only eight referred cases of noncitizens registering to vote or voting. The “wording of this amendment, which strips out specific language acknowledging that citizens may be born or naturalized, may confuse naturalized citizens and discourage them from exercising their fundamental right to vote,” the ACLU of North Carolina wrote in September.

Oklahoma

Voters in Oklahoma will see on their ballot State Question 834, an amendment to make it clear “that only citizens of the United States are qualified to vote in this state.” In May, the Republican-controlled legislature passed, along party lines, a resolution to place the amendment on the ballot. If approved, it would have the effect of changing a single word in the state constitution’s text: to say “only”—in place of “all”—US citizens may vote in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma State Election Board’s website states that registering to vote in the state as a noncitizen constitutes a felony.

South Carolina

Similar to Oklahoma’s, the ballot measure in South Carolina would amend the state constitution to say that “only a citizen,” instead of “every citizen,” is entitled to vote. But the way the measure appears on the ballot makes it unclear that the constitution already limits voting to citizens. It asks voters: “Must Section 4, Article II of the Constitution of this State, relating to voter qualifications, be amended so as to provide that only a citizen of the United States and of this State of the age of 18 and upwards who is properly registered is entitled to vote as provided by law?” You can’t blame voters for thinking the answer to that question should be yes.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin already requires voters to be US citizens, and when registering to vote, people need to check a box confirming they are citizens. Since 2019, the Wisconsin Elections Commission has identified only three cases of noncitizens being referred for prosecution for casting a vote unlawfully. In most instances, people were mistaken about their eligibility to vote. According to the ACLU of Wisconsin, no jurisdictions in the state currently allow noncitizen voting. But supporters of the proposed amendment—which would change the constitutional text from “every” to “only a” US citizen “may vote in an election for national, state, or local office or at a statewide or local referendum”—say it’s necessary because other states have allowed it.

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