Activist group launches amendment campaign in 8 states to block non-citizen voting

The nonprofit Americans for Citizen Voting (ACV) launched a campaign on Wednesday to pass constitutional amendments in eight states this November to prevent non-citizens from voting in those states' elections.

The eight states with these constitutional amendments on the ballot in November are Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.

While it is illegal for non-citizens to vote in U.S. elections, 17 cities across California, Illinois, Maryland, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., allow non-citizens to vote in municipal elections. New York City's law allowing non-citizens to vote is currently subject to a court block. If the city's law takes effect, then 800,000 non-citizens would be eligible to vote in municipal elections.

“Despite what you’ve seen in the news, non-citizen voting is happening right now, legally, in cities across the country,” ACV President Avi McCullah said in a statement. “This November the voters of eight states will get their chance to address the issue. I believe they will pass the Citizen Only Voting Amendment and send a powerful message nationwide.

“I am a naturalized citizen,” McCullah added. “I was born in Brazil and went through the process to become a citizen of the United States. Does our immigration system have problems? Of course, but diluting the citizenship I worked very hard for is not the solution.”

“Federal law requires that voters in federal elections be citizens of the United States. That isn’t the case for state and local elections,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said. “The only way to stop activist city councils, county boards, and state legislatures from legalizing foreign citizen voting is to pass a Citizen Only Voting Amendment.”