Wisconsin Citizenship Voting Requirement Amendment (2024)
| Wisconsin Citizenship Voting Requirement Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Suffrage | |
| Status On the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Wisconsin Citizenship Voting Requirement Amendment is on the ballot in Wisconsin as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024.[1][2]
A "yes" vote supports this amendment to add language to the Wisconsin Constitution that only U.S. citizens who are 18 years old or older can vote in federal, state, local, or school elections. |
A "no" vote opposes this amendment to add language to the Wisconsin Constitution that only U.S. citizens who are 18 years old or older can vote in federal, state, local, or school elections. |
Overview
How would this amendment change who can vote in Wisconsin?
- See also: Text of measure
The measure would amend the Wisconsin Constitution to add language to provide that "Only a United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident" may vote in a national, state, or local office or statewide or local ballot measure election. The amendment would also add definitions for local office, national office, referendum, and state office in the state constitution. Currently, the constitution states that "Every United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district" is a qualified voter.[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. 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. No state constitutions explicitly allowed noncitizens to vote in state or local elections. Since 2018, constitutional amendments to state that only a citizen (rather than every citizen) may vote were approved in six states.
Can noncitizens vote in local elections in other states?
- See also: Noncitizen-voting in the United States
Sixteen municipalities across the country allowed noncitizens to vote in local elections as of December 2023. Eleven were located in Maryland, three were located in Vermont, and two were located in California. San Francisco allowed noncitizens to vote in school board elections by approving Proposition N in 2016.
In June 2022, the New York State Supreme Court for Staten Island overturned a New York City law to allow noncitizen voting, ruling that it violated the state's constitution. According to Judge Ralph Porzio, “by not expressly including non-citizens in the New York State Constitution, it was the intent of the framers for non-citizens to be omitted.”[4]
Are other states voting on similar measures in 2024?
- See also: Background
Bans on noncitizen voting at the state level have 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 non-citizen voting. The eight states are Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.
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, will decide on a ballot measure to allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections.
Jack Tomczak, Vice President of Americans for Citizen Voting, which supports 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."[5]
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question is as follows:[2]
| “ | Shall section 1 of article III of the constitution, which deals with suffrage, be amended to provide that only a United States citizen age 18 or older who resides in an election district may vote in an election for national, state, or local office or at a statewide or local referendum?[6] | ” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article III, Wisconsin Constitution
The measure would amend Article III of the state constitution. The following underlined text would be added, and struck-through text would be deleted:[2]
|
Section 1 (1) In this section: (a) "Local office" means any elective office other than a state or national office. (b) “National office" means the offices of president and vice president of the United States, U.S. senator, and representative in congress. (c) “Referendum" means an election at which an advisory, validating, or ratifying question is submitted to the electorate. (d) “State office" means the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state superintendent of public instruction, justice of the supreme court, court of appeals judge, circuit court judge, state senator, state representative to the assembly, and district attorney. Section 1 (2) |
Full text
The full text can be read here.
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 14. The word count for the ballot title is 49.
Support
Ballotpedia has not located a campaign in support of the ballot measure. You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Supporters
Officials
- State Sen. Julian Bradley (R)
- State Rep. Tyler August (R)
- State Rep. Jim Steineke (R)
Organizations
Arguments
Opposition
Ballotpedia has not located a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure. You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Opponents
Officials
- State Rep. Greta Neubauer (D)
Organizations
- ACLU of Wisconsin
- All in Wisconsin
- Common Cause Wisconsin
- Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing (EXPO) of Wisconsin
- League of Women Voters of Wisconsin
- Souls to the Polls WI
- Wisconsin Conservation Voters
- Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
Arguments
Campaign finance
If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this amendment, 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 |
Background
Citizenship voting requirement ballot measures
Since 2018, voters have decided on six ballot measures related to adding language about citizenship requirements for voting. Voters approved all six measures with at least 62.9% of the vote. In 2024, eight states are voting on ballot measures addressing citizenship requirements for voting.
Partisanship of legislative votes on referred measures
The following table shows the percentage of Democratic and Republican legislators that supported referring constitutional amendments to the state's ballot requiring citizenship to vote. The average percent of Republican support was 100% while the average percent of Democratic support was 45.6%.
In Alabama and Iowa, legislators passed the referrals with unanimous support from both parties.
State constitutions on suffrage and citizenship
All state constitutions mention United States citizenship when discussing who can vote in that state's elections. 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.[3]
Sixteen municipalities across the country allowed noncitizens to vote in local elections as of December 2023. Eleven were located in Maryland, three were located in Vermont, and two were located in California. San Francisco allowed noncitizens to vote in school board elections by approving Proposition N in 2016.
New York City noncitizen voting ruled unconstitutional
On January 9, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams allowed an ordinance to become law without his signature that would allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections starting in January 2023. A group of Republican voters and officials representing the New York Republican State Committee and Republican National Committee, as well as a Democratic city council member, filed a lawsuit on January 10, 2023, challenging the new law. The plaintiffs alleged that allowing over 800,000 eligible noncitizens to vote in municipal elections when New York City has approximately five million registered voters would dilute the power of the votes of legitimate U.S. citizens.[7]
On June 27, 2022, the New York State Supreme Court for Staten Island overturned the law, ruling that it violated the state's constitution. According to Judge Ralph Porzio, “by not expressly including non-citizens in the New York State Constitution, it was the intent of the framers for non-citizens to be omitted.” The judge quoted Article 2.1 and Article 2.5 of the state's constitution in his judgment:[8][9][10]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Wisconsin Constitution
In Wisconsin, the state legislature is required to approve an amendment by majority vote in two successive sessions for the amendment to appear on the ballot.
2021-2022 legislative session
The amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 32 (SJR 32). The Wisconsin State Senate approved the amendment by a vote of 21-12 on January 25, 2022. The Wisconsin State Assembly approved SJR 32 by a vote of 60-35 on February 24, 2022.[1]
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2023-2024 legislative session
The amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 71 (SJR 71). The Wisconsin State Senate approved the amendment by a vote of 21-10 on November 7, 2023, with two not voting. The Wisconsin State Assembly approved SJR 71 by a vote of 60-34 on November 9, 2023, with five not voting.[1]
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How to cast a vote
- See also: Voting in Wisconsin
Click "Show" to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Wisconsin.
| How to cast a vote in Wisconsin | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Poll timesIn Wisconsin, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[11] Registration
To register to vote in Wisconsin, one must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of Wisconsin for at least 28 days prior to the election. A voter must be at least 18 years of age by Election Day.[12] Prospective voters can register online or by mailing a form to their municipal clerk. If registering by mail, the application must be postmarked no later than 20 days before the election. In-person registration must be completed by 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. Prospective voters can also register in person at their municipal clerk's office up until the Friday before the election or at their polling place on Election Day. (Same-day voter registration requires proof of residency.)[12] Automatic registrationWisconsin does not practice automatic voter registration.[13] Online registration
Wisconsin has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.[13] Same-day registrationWisconsin allows same-day voter registration.[13] Residency requirementsWisconsin law requires 28 days of residency in a precinct before a person may vote.[12] Verification of citizenshipWisconsin does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. Verifying your registrationThe site My Vote, run by the Wisconsin Election Commission, allows residents to check their voter registration status online. Voter ID requirementsWisconsin requires voters to present photo identification while voting.[14] The following list of accepted ID was current as of May 2023. Click here for the Wisconsin Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.
The following voters do not need to provide photo ID:[14]
Voters can obtain a free Wisconsin State ID Card at a Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles office. Voters need the following to apply for an ID:[15]
Voters who do not have all or any of the materials listed above can still obtain an ID. Call the voter ID hotline for assistance at (844) 588-1069.[15] | |||||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wisconsin State Legislature, "SJR 32," accessed January 5, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Wisconsin State Legislature, "Text of SJR 32," accessed January 5, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cornell Law School, "18 U.S. Code § 611 - Voting by aliens," accessed March 26, 2020
- ↑ Reuters, "New York judge rules law allowing noncitizens to vote for mayor is unconstitutional," June 27, 2022
- ↑ NBC News, "GOP efforts to crack down on noncitizen voting extend to state ballot measures," September 14, 2024
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 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 - ↑ Democracy Docket, "New York Judge Strikes Down NYC’s Noncitizen Voting Law," June 27, 2022
- ↑ Reuters, "New York judge rules law allowing noncitizens to vote for mayor is unconstitutional," June 27, 2022
- ↑ Democracy Docket, "Full Judgement NYSCEF Doc. No. 174," June 27, 2022
- ↑ The New York Times, "Noncitizens’ Right to Vote Becomes Law in New York City," January 9, 2022
- ↑ Wisconsin Election Commission, “Election Day Voting,” accessed May 4, 2023
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Wisconsin Elections Commission, "Voter Registration and Proof of Residence," accessed May 4, 2023
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 NCSL, "State Profiles: Elections," accessed August 20, 2024
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Wisconsin Elections Commission, "Photo ID," accessed May 4, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "wvid" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 15.0 15.1 Wisconsin Department of Transportation, "Wisconsin ID card for voting purposes - petition process," accessed May 4, 2023
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