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Citizen-only voting amendments victorious in all eight states they were on ballot

ST. LOUIS RECORD

Thursday, November 21, 2024

Citizen-only voting amendments victorious in all eight states they were on ballot

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Constitutional amendments to ensure only American citizens can vote in elections passed in all eight states they appeared on the ballot.

The measures passed in Missouri, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Republicans control the legislatures in those states.

“It was a heckuva good week,” Paul Jacob, chairman of Americans for Citizen Voting, told The St. Louis Record. “Voters in all eight states sent a clear and unmistakable message that only citizens should vote. And each ballot measure passed by whopping margins.”


Jacob | File photo

The amendments make it explicitly illegal for noncitizens to vote in state and local elections. It already is illegal in federal elections.

“In every state, unless they have this amendment, any future legislature could allow noncitizens to vote, and the people would never get a chance to say yes or no,” Jacob said. “What these amendments do is take this issue and put it in the hands of the voters.”

There are a handful of cities and municipalities in four states as well as the District of Columbia that allow noncitizens to vote in some local elections. But Jacob said he was pleased voters in Santa Ana, California, rejected a measure that could have let the city allow noncitizens to vote in local elections.

During last week’s election, the Citizen Only Voting Amendments passed by solid margins in all eight states, with the closest margin being 62 percent in favor in Kentucky. In Idaho, it was 65-35, and it was 68-32 in Missouri. The other totals were 70 percent in Wisconsin, 76 in Iowa, 77.6 in North Carolina, 81 in Oklahoma and 86 in South Carolina.

Those eight states join 12 others that already had citizen-only voting laws. Those states are Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.

“Our goal is to get to 30 states or more in 2026,” Jacob said, specifically mentioning Texas, West Virginia, Nevada and Michigan as focus states. “The beauty of the Citizen Only Voting Amendments is that many hard-working regular-citizen Democrats also generally side with this issue.

“Watch out in 2026 because we have people in another dozen or so states ready to pass these types of measures and to clarify that only citizens can vote in their state and local elections.”

Jacob also said he thinks these measures could have helped President-elect Donald Trump in the key swing states of North Carolina and Wisconsin.

“There is much more of a focus on this issue than there was years ago,” Jacob said. “I think a lot of very left-wing groups pushed this issue when they could do it where it wouldn’t raise attention. They tried to present it as a rights issue, but the public doesn’t see it that way at all.

“We believe in rights, but you have to join the American family to vote. That’s always this issue is important to naturalized citizens. They have worked hard to earn the right to legally vote, and they want that right to be protected.

“In essence, it all comes down to this: If you want to vote, become a citizen.”

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