North Carolina becomes seventh state to add citizenship requirement for voting amendment to Nov. ballot

Voters in North Carolina will join those in Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin in deciding a ballot measure to prohibit non-citizen voting. The ballot measures would amend language to their respective state constitutions to provide that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections. All seven ballot questions were placed on the Nov. 2024 ballot by Republican-controlled state legislatures.

Similar measures were on the statewide ballot in North Dakota (2018), Colorado (2020), Alabama (2020), Florida (2020), Ohio (2022), and Louisiana (2022). All six were approved with at least 62.9% of the vote.

Currently, the North Carolina Constitution says, “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.”

Approval of the amendment would change the constitution to say instead, “Only a citizen of the United States who is 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.”

North Carolina requires a 60 percent vote in each legislative chamber during a single legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment 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.

State Sen. Brad Overcash (R-43) said, “We’ve got an opportunity to empower the people of North Carolina to amend their own constitution and declare that citizens and only citizens of the state of North Carolina are allowed to vote in our elections.”

State Sen. Julie Mayfield (D49) said, “I don’t want to impugn the motives of my colleagues. But ultimately I think these are coming up because it’s a turnout issue.”

Between 1985 and 2022, 29 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots in North Carolina. Twenty-four (24) were approved, and five were defeated.