Citizen Only Voting Amendment
| Model Bill Info | |
|---|---|
| Bill Title | Citizen Only Voting Amendment |
| Date Introduced | July 26, 2024 |
| Type | Model Policy |
| Status | Draft |
| Task Forces | Federalism and International Relations |
| Keywords | voting, elections |
Citizen Only Voting Amendment
Whereas, providing the right to vote to non-citizens in municipal or school board elections is expensive for the municipality because they now need to maintain their own separate voter rolls, an area in which they little experience.
Whereas, when the right to vote is given to non-citizens it puts their ability to become a citizen at risk. If they are accidentally mailed or handed a ballot with state or federal candidates on it and they vote, their opportunity to become a citizen could be derailed.
Whereas, extending the right to vote to non-citizens devalues the work done by those who have become naturalized citizens.
Whereas, there is no evidence that extending the right to vote to a non-citizen encourages them to become a citizen. In fact, there are many examples of people that have become citizens specifically to gain the right to vote.
Whereas, states and localities that allow non-citizen voting have been challenged in court with inconsistent results.
Therefore be it resolved that this state amend the suffrage provision of the State Constitution such that it states that “Only Citizens of the United States” or “No person who is not a citizen of the United States” shall be a qualified elector in any election held within the state.
