North Carolina Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment (2024)
| North Carolina Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Suffrage | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The North Carolina Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment was on the ballot in North Carolina as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024.[1] It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to provide that only U.S. citizens who are 18 years old or older can vote in elections. |
A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitution to provide that only U.S. citizens who are 18 years old or older can vote in elections, rather than every citizen. |
Election results
See also: Results for voting-related and noncitizen voting ballot measures, 2024
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North Carolina Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
4,184,680 | 77.59% | ||
| No | 1,208,865 | 22.41% | ||
Overview
What did the amendment change about voting in North Carolina?
- See also: Text of measure
This measure prohibited local governments from allowing noncitizens to vote by providing in the state constitution that only a citizen of the U.S., rather than every citizen of the U.S., can vote.[1]
What do other state constitutions say about suffrage and citizenship?
In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed a law prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections, such as U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections. Federal law did not address state or local elections.[2]
All state constitutions mention United States citizenship when discussing who can vote in that state's elections. As of October 2024, in 43 states, constitutional language discussing citizenship says who can vote (e.g. "every citizen" or "all citizens"), but does not state that noncitizens cannot vote. In seven states (Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Ohio) the states' constitutions provide that citizens, but not noncitizens, have the right to vote. In 2018, 2020, and 2022, constitutional amendments to state that only a citizen (rather than every citizen) may vote were approved in six states.
Did other states vote on similar measures in 2024?
- See also: Background
Bans on noncitizen voting at the state level had become more frequent since 2018. Voters in six states approved ballot measures banning noncitizen voting from 2018 to 2022. In 2024, eight state legislatures referred constitutional amendments to the ballot to prohibit the state or local governments from allowing noncitizen voting. The eight states were Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. Voters approved each constitutional amendment.
Jack Tomczak, Vice President of Americans for Citizen Voting, which supported the ballot measures, said, "We, and legislators who sponsor these, are getting ahead of fixing a problem that maybe has not reared its head as much in these states. It’s not like it’s happening everywhere and it must be stopped immediately. But preemption is not a bad thing." Jonathan Diaz, Director of Voting Advocacy for the Campaign Legal Center, said, "These proposed constitutional amendments are aimed really at two things: preventing local governments in those states from allowing non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections, and advancing this false narrative that non-U.S. citizens are somehow participating in U.S. elections in large numbers, which is totally unsupported by any evidence or facts."[3]
As of 2024, municipalities in California, Maryland, and Vermont, along with Washington, D.C., allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections. In November, voters in Santa Ana, California, decided on a ballot measure to allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for the amendment was as follows:[1]
| “ |
[ ] FOR [ ] AGAINST Constitutional amendment 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 this State.[4] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article VI, North Carolina Constitution
The measure amended Section 1 of Article VI of the state constitution. The following struck-through text was deleted and underlined text was added.[5]
Every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized, Only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age, 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.[4]
Readability score
- See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024
Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.
The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 12, and the FRE is 42. The word count for the ballot title is 37.
Support
Supporters
Officials
- State Rep. John Bell (R)
- State Rep. Karl Gillespie (R)
- State Rep. Destin Hall (R)
- State Rep. Timothy Moore (Nonpartisan)
Organizations
Arguments
Opposition
Opponents
Officials
- State Rep. Mary Harrison (D)
Organizations
- Carolina Forward
- Carolina Migrant Network
- Common Cause North Carolina
- Democracy North Carolina
- Down Home North Carolina
- El Pueblo
- League of Women Voters of North Carolina
- NC Megaphone
- North Carolina Asian Americans Together
- North Carolina Justice Center
- Sierra Club North Carolina
Arguments
Campaign finance
If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Oppose | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Background
Voting in North Carolina
- See also: Voting in North Carolina
- Check your voter registration status here.
To register to vote in North Carolina, each applicant must be a United States citizen, a resident of the county in which they are registering to vote for at least 30 days before the election, be at least 16 years old at the time of application and at least 18 years old by the time of the subsequent general election, and not be serving a felony sentence, including probation and parole [6][7] The North Carolina voter registration application is available online.
Voter registration applications can be completed online or submitted to the appropriate county board of elections. Applications must be submitted at least 25 days before the election, but voters can also register and vote on the same day during the early voting period, but not on Election Day.[8]
Voter registration services are also provided by the following agencies:[9]
- Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
- Division of Services for the Blind
- Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- Division of Health Benefits
- Division of Child and Family Well-Being/WIC
- Division of Social Services
- Division of Rehabilitation Services
- Division of Employment Security (DES)
- Division of State Operated Healthcare Facilities
Citizenship voting requirement ballot measures
From 2018 to 2024, voters decided on 14 ballot measures related to adding language about citizenship requirements for voting. Voters approved all 14 measures.
Partisanship of legislative votes on referred measures
In 16 states that placed constitutional amendments on the ballot to require citizenship to vote in state and local elections, Republican legislators supported the amendments, averaging 99.7%. In all but one state—South Dakota (2026)—every Republican legislator voted in favor; in South Dakota, 95.3% supported the amendment. Democratic support varied between states, averaging 43.1% and ranging from 0% in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin to 100% in Alabama (2020) and Iowa (2024).
State constitutions on suffrage and citizenship
All state constitutions mention United States citizenship when discussing who can vote in that state's elections. As of 2024, in 43 states, constitutional language discussing citizenship says who can vote (e.g. "every citizen" or "all citizens"), but does not state that noncitizens cannot vote. In seven states (Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Ohio) the states' constitutions provide that citizens, but not noncitizens, have the right to vote.
Noncitizen-voting in the United States
In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed a law prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections, such as U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections. Federal law did not address state or local elections.[2]
Fifteen municipalities across the country allowed noncitizens to vote in local elections as of January 2022. Eleven were located in Maryland, two were located in Vermont, one was New York City, and the other was San Francisco, California. San Francisco allowed noncitizens to vote in school board elections by approving Proposition N in 2016. On January 9, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed a bill that would allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections starting in January 2023.[10]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the North Carolina Constitution
North Carolina requires a 60 percent vote in each legislative chamber during a single legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 72 votes in the North Carolina House of Representatives and 30 votes in the North Carolina Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
The constitutional amendment was introduced as House Bill 1074. It was approved in the House on June 27, 2024, by a vote of 99-12 with nine. The Senate approved the amendment on the same day by a vote of 40-4 with six members absent.[1]
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How to cast a vote
- See also: Voting in North Carolina
See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in North Carolina.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 North Carolina State Legislature, "House Bill 1074," accessed June 28, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cornell Law School, "18 U.S. Code § 611 - Voting by aliens," accessed March 26, 2020
- ↑ NBC News, "GOP efforts to crack down on noncitizen voting extend to state ballot measures," September 14, 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
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<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedOverview - ↑ 6.0 6.1 North Carolina State Board of Elections, “Registering to Vote,” accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 North Carolina State Board of Elections, “Who Can Register,” accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, “Register in Person During Early Voting,” accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, “National Voter Registration Act (NVRA),” accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ The New York Times, "Noncitizens’ Right to Vote Becomes Law in New York City," January 9, 2022
- ↑ Justia, "NC Gen Stat § 163-166.01 (2022) Hours for voting," accessed May 1, 2023
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, “Register in Person During Early Voting,” accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, “National Voter Registration Act (NVRA),” accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 NCSL, "State Profiles: Elections," accessed August 30, 2024
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, “Register in Person During Early Voting,” accessed May 1, 2023
- ↑ Justia, “NC Gen Stat § 163-227.2 (2022),” accessed May 1, 2023
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "North Carolina Voter Registration Application," accessed November 2, 2024
- ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Voter ID," accessed May 1, 2023
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, “Voter ID,” accessed May 23, 2024
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