Voters in the battleground state of Wisconsin will go to the polls in November to decide whether to amend the state constitution to explicitly ban noncitizens from voting in municipal, state and federal elections.
The statewide referendum authored by Republican lawmakers, listed at the bottom of the ballot, seeks permission to amend Article 3, Section 1 of the state constitution regarding voting to state “only for U.S. citizens 18 years of age or older.” will be asked of voters. Seniors residing in the district may vote in elections for national, state, and local government offices, or in statewide or local referendums. ”
Currently, the state constitution states that “all citizens of the United States over the age of 18” can vote.
“By addressing this issue now, we can ensure that votes are not diluted in the future,” Republican state Sen. Julian Bradley told the nonprofit news organization VoteBeat Wisconsin. “It is best for the government to address this concern before it becomes an issue.”
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Debra Cronmiller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, holds a sign outside her Madison office Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, urging voters to reject an amendment that would ban foreigners from voting. Ta. (AP Photo/Todd Richmond)
In recent years, North Dakota, Alabama, Florida, Colorado, Ohio, and Louisiana have passed amendments to their state constitutions that specify that only U.S. citizens can vote. The question has also been asked in eight other states this year, including Wisconsin, Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri, the Associated Press reported.
Republicans say they are trying to protect election integrity as immigrants flood the border. According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there have been more than 10 million encounters with illegal immigrants at the U.S. border under the Biden-Harris administration, and at least 2 million more known cases of illegal immigration. It is shown that it was encountered.
Democrats and other opponents argue that a state amendment barring noncitizens from voting would have no practical effect, and because no municipality in Wisconsin allows noncitizens to vote, they would rather rally conservatives to the polls and increase the U.S. They claim the aim is to stir up anger against foreigners in the country.
“There's nothing wrong with non-citizens voting,” Jeff Mandel, an attorney with the nonprofit group Law Forward, told The Associated Press. “It's the very definition of a solution looking for a problem.”
On November 4, 2022, residents voted at City Hall in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The Justice Department has approved a law centered around Yonkin voters' roll-culling order, and the federal government is filing a lawsuit to block it.
A 1996 federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections in any state. Does not apply to state and local elections.
Several municipalities in California, Maryland, and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia, allow noncitizens to vote in some local elections, such as school board and city council elections.
Voting stickers will be posted at polling places in Green Bay, Wisconsin on April 2, 2024. (Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Last week, the Justice Department sued Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's administration for removing from voter rolls people who were identified as noncitizens and whose citizenship could not be verified within a two-week grace period. The state announced that it had removed 6,000 ineligible people from its rolls.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in August that more than 6,500 potential non-citizens had been removed from the state's voter rolls starting in 2021. Ohio Secretary of State Frank La Rose also said in August that he had cited 138 clearly noncitizens who were found to have voted in recent elections. Indictment.
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Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said 3,251 people previously identified as noncitizens by the federal government have been deactivated from the state's voter registration rolls.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
