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South Carolina Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment (2024)
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U.S. House • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • State ballot measures • School boards • All other local • How to run for office |
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| South Carolina Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment | |
|---|---|
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| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Suffrage | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The South Carolina Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment was on the ballot in South Carolina as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024.[1] It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to add language 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 add language 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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South Carolina Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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1,982,956 | 85.94% | ||
| No | 324,432 | 14.06% | ||
Overview
What did the amendment change about voting in South 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 did state officials say about non-citizen voting in South Carolina?
- See also: Support, Opposition, and Background
State Rep. Adam Morgan (R-20) said, "Many said [non-citizen voting] was a non-issue. Then we discovered state agencies sending voter registration forms to non-citizens. These 'non-issues' keep turning out to be major issues."
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster (R) requested the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to investigate claims made by State Rep. Adam Morgan (R-20) that voter registration forms had been sent to a noncitizen refugee. Gov. McMaster released a statement on May 16, 2024, saying, "The SLED investigation has confirmed the integrity of South Carolina’s voter registration system, as previous official audits have confirmed. Agencies are properly complying with state and federal voter registration laws, and no evidence of unlawful activity was found. In addition, the SLED report highlights that the citizenship verification policies and procedures being followed by state election officials are designed to prevent non-citizens from becoming eligible to vote.”[2]
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.[3]
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 said who could vote (e.g. "every citizen" or "all citizens"), but did not state that noncitizens could not 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."[4]
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]
| “ | Must Section 4, Article II of the Constitution of this State, relating to voter qualifications, be amended so as to provide that only a citizen of the United States and of this State of the age of eighteen and upwards who is properly registered is entitled to vote as provided by law?[5] | ” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article II, South Carolina Constitution
The measure amended Section 4 of Article II of the state constitution. The following struck-through text was deleted and underlined text was added.[1]
Section 4. Every Only a citizen of the United States and of this State of the age of eighteen and upwards who is properly registered is entitled to vote as provided by law.
[5]
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 24, and the FRE is 17. The word count for the ballot title is 51.
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 |
Support
Supporters
Officials
- State Rep. Adam Morgan (R)
Organizations
Arguments
Opposition
Arguments
You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Background
Voting in South Carolina
- See also: Voting in South Carolina
- Check your voter registration status here.
To register to vote in South Carolina, one must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the county and precinct where he or she is registering, and at least 18 years old by Election Day. People who have been declared mentally incompetent by court order, are imprisoned, or are still serving a sentence for a felony conviction are ineligible to register to vote.[6] The deadline for registration is 30 days before the election. Prospective voters may register using one of the following methods:
- Online,
- In person at the county board of elections or one of the following locations:
- Armed Forces Recruiting Stations
- Commission for the Blind
- Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services
- Department of Disabilities and Special Needs
- Department of Health and Environmental Control
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Mental Health
- Department of Motor Vehicles
- Department of Social Services
- Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities
- Vocational Rehabilitation Department
- Returning a voter registration form by email, fax, or mail to the county board of voter registration. Note that mailed applications must be postmarked by at least 30 days before the election.[6]
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigation into non-citizen voting
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster (R) requested the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to investigate claims made by State Rep. Adam Morgan (R-20) that voter registration forms had been sent to a noncitizen refugee. Gov. McMaster released a statement on May 16, 2024, saying, "The SLED investigation has confirmed the integrity of South Carolina’s voter registration system, as previous official audits have confirmed. Agencies are properly complying with state and federal voter registration laws, and no evidence of unlawful activity was found. In addition, the SLED report highlights that the citizenship verification policies and procedures being followed by state election officials are designed to prevent non-citizens from becoming eligible to vote.”[7]
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 October 2024, in 43 states, constitutional language discussing citizenship said who could vote (e.g. "every citizen" or "all citizens"), but did not state that noncitizens could not 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.[3]
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.[8]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the South Carolina Constitution
To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required in both the South Carolina State Senate and the South Carolina House of Representatives.
The amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 1126 on February 29, 2024. The Senate passed the amendment on April 3, 2024, in a vote of 40-3. The House passed the amendment on May 2, 2024, by a vote of 105-0 with 19 absent or excused.[1]
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How to cast a vote
- See also: Voting in South Carolina
See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in South Carolina.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 South Carolina State Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 1126," accessed April 8, 2024
- ↑ Washington Examiner, "South Carolina governor says illegal immigrants don’t pose risk for voter integrity in his state," accessed May 19, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 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
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 South Carolina Election Commission, “Register to Vote,” accessed May 2, 2023
- ↑ Washington Examiner, "South Carolina governor says illegal immigrants don’t pose risk for voter integrity in his state," accessed May 19, 2024
- ↑ The New York Times, "Noncitizens’ Right to Vote Becomes Law in New York City," January 9, 2022
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 South Carolina Election Commission, "FAQs for the 2024 General Election," accessed August 20, 2024
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 NCSL, "State Profiles: Elections," accessed August 13, 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."
- ↑ Justia, "SC Code § 7-13-710 (2022)," accessed May 2, 2023
- ↑ South Carolina Elections Commission, "FAQs for the 2024 General Election, accessed August 13, 2024
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