By Corinne Saunders
Every North Carolinian who votes in the upcoming 2024 general election will see at the end of their ballot a proposed constitutional amendment asking for a for/against vote.
As it appears on sample ballots, the proposed amendment is “to provide 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 the state.”
The North Carolina State Constitution already only grants citizens the right to vote and already requires voters to be 18 years or older.
But language specifically granting the right of naturalized citizens to vote—currently enshrined in the state constitution—is missing in the amendment.
“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,” Article VI, Section 1 of the North Carolina State Constitution currently states.
The General Assembly on June 28 voted to include the proposed amendment this year’s ballot with legislation that struck the language concerning naturalized U.S. citizens voting.
House Bill 1074—“An act to amend the constitution of North Carolina to provide for citizens-only voting”—became Session Law 2024-18.
A screenshot of the first part of the Session Law 2024-18 shows the stricken language concerning naturalized citizens voting. Click to read the full legislation.
“This amendment would further protect election integrity by solidifying the Constitution’s existing requirement that only United States citizens can vote in North Carolina elections,” a legislative services officer-provided summary said, according to information posted on the Brunswick County government website.
But statewide, the proposed amendment has also caused concern.
Multiple advocacy groups in North Carolina together organized a press conference last month calling on voters to vote “no” to the referendum, saying it could impact more than 400,000 naturalized citizens living in the state, WUNC North Carolina Public Radio reported on Sept. 19.
Voting as a noncitizen is a Class 1 felony, and the North Carolina State Board of Elections annually reports few to zero cases of noncitizens voting statewide.
“Typically, there are very few, if any, cases of noncitizen registration or voting referred for prosecution statewide each year, which demonstrates how infrequent it is for noncitizens to register or vote,” the state board of election’s website says.
North Carolina voters have also been required by law to show photo identification when voting since the 2023 municipal elections.
Comments