Citizens-only constitutional amendment to appear on general election ballot

In the upcoming general election, North Carolina voters will have the opportunity to vote on approving a citizens-only constitutional amendment.

On the ballot, the amendment is explained as a revision to the language of Article VI, Section 1 of the North Carolina state constitution. The amendment currently states 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."

The proposed amendment would change the word "every" to "only," and would remove the phrase including naturalized citizens' voting eligibility.

The bill received bipartisan support in the North Carolina House and Senate, and will need a majority vote in the general election to be passed as an amendment. 

N.C. Rep. Kelly Hastings (R-Gaston), one of the co-sponsors of the bill, said the purpose of the amendment was to combat voter fraud.

“It is my understanding that some people who aren’t here legally have been allowed to vote in certain elections,” he said. 

If the referendum is passed, it will be a stronger way to enforce the state's voting regulations, because amendments carry more legal weight than laws and are more difficult to overturn, Hastings said. 

“These amendments go before the people, and that’s a pretty powerful signal,” Hastings said. 

Gerry Cohen, a member of the Wake County Board of Elections, said state law and the current North Carolina Constitution already prohibit non-citizens from voting in elections. 

“I know of no proposal ever in North Carolina in the last 50 years to allow noncitizens to vote, and in fact, I know of no credible information that any noncitizen has voted,” he said. 

N.C. Rep. John Autry (D-Mecklenburg) voted against the bill and said he does not see how the amendment helps North Carolinians, or addresses voting-related problems in the state. 

"No one ever produced any evidence that was compelling to guide me to say we need to put this in the state constitution,” he said.

Democracy NC Communications Manager Joselle Torres said the amendment ignores state and federal laws, which already require citizenship to vote. She said the referendum's phrasing might confuse voters about what the current language in the constitution is.

"What this bill is doing is sowing division across our community in an effort to create mistrust in our elections and really perpetrate anti-immigrant hate and racism," she said.

Autry said, maintaining the current language about naturalized citizens had been requested when the bill was being reviewed in the House, but was not included in the final version for approval. 

“As a naturalized citizen, you’re still a citizen,” he said. “But folks are very concerned that this may be an opportunity for some election deniers and conspiracy enthusiasts to make life difficult for folks.”

Autry said his office has received questions from constituents about if they are still eligible to vote as naturalized citizens.

Hastings said he believes the amendment will have no effect on eligible voters, and that anyone who qualifies will still be able to register and vote. 

“The primary focus here is to have people who are legally eligible to vote, be able to vote," Hastings said. "That’s the overriding issue.”

Because the proposed amendment lacks specific language about naturalized voters, Torres said, it could lead to courts potentially ruling against naturalized citizens’ voting rights if approved in the election. 

“When we look at the way the existing language stands with that part about naturalized citizens, this is going to impede and potentially scare folks who certainly have the right to vote through naturalization,"  she said.

Cohen said there are at least a dozen other states that have similar referendums on their ballots. 

Early voting begins on Oct. 17, and the deadline to vote in the general election is Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m.

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