Next month, North Carolinians will decide whether “only” U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in future state elections.
House Bill 1074, referred to as the “Citizen Only Voting” amendment, would clarify the state’s constitution to read that “only a citizen” is allowed to vote in the Old North State.
North Carolina law currently reads that “every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized, 18 years of age, and possessing the qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people of the State, except as herein otherwise provided.”
While the state already does not allow noncitizens to vote, proponents say the amendment establishes confidence in elections amid the ongoing immigration crisis.
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Voters make selections at their voting booths inside an early voting site on Oct. 17, 2024 in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Several counties affected by Hurricane Helene saw a large turnout of residents for the first day of early voting in western North Carolina. (Melissa Sue Gerrits)
The amendment, if passed, would adjust the wording to say that “only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age and otherwise possessing the qualifications for voting shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State.”
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“Ensuring that only U.S. Citizens in North Carolina can vote is a critical step that is needed in order to have confidence in our elections,” North Carolina GOP Chairman Jason Simmons wrote in a press release after the amendment was officially placed on the 2024 ballot.Â
Other supporters of the amendment say it is a matter of prevention.
Voters wait in line to cast their ballots during the first day of early voting at a polling station in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (Allison Joyce)
“Democrats in far-left cities and states are doing everything they possibly can to allow noncitizens to vote in elections. The best defense we can mount against these attacks on democracy is to empower the people of North Carolina to amend their own constitution to state that only U.S. citizens shall vote in our elections,” State Sen. Brad Overcash, R-Gaston, said of the amendment.
However, the amendment has received pushback from critics who say it is “an unnecessary and anti-immigrant tactic that will further marginalize North Carolina’s immigrant communities.”
Absentee ballots are prepared to be mailed at the Wake County Board of Elections on Sept. 17, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Allison Joyce)
“As an immigrant to North Carolina who went through the grueling process of naturalization so that I could become a citizen and participate in democracy by voting, I fear that this proposed change in the language of our constitution is a stepping stone to further disenfranchising and disempowering us and our communities,” said Jasmina Nogo, staff attorney with the Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project at the NC Justice Center.
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Over a million ballots have already been cast in North Carolina after early voting started on Oct. 17.