Voters in West Virginia, Kansas and Arkansas Approve Citizens-Only Voting Amendments
Voters in West Virginia, Kansas and Arkansas approved constitutional amendments Tuesday stating that only U.S. citizens may vote in their elections.
In West Virginia, the Associated Press called Amendment 1 at 8:43 p.m. Tuesday. At the time, 78.8% of voters supported it, with 73% of precincts counted.
State law already required U.S. citizenship to vote, but supporters said the constitution required only that voters be citizens of the state. The amended text now says “Only citizens of the United States” may vote.
“This proposed amendment would ensure that no future Legislature could just simply change the election law with only a bill,” state Sen. Patricia Rucker, a Jefferson County Republican and sponsor, said in September.
After the vote, Rucker said West Virginians “chose to protect the integrity of our elections.” She added, “The right to vote, especially as (a) naturalized United States citizen, is something I hold close to my heart.”
The West Virginia Citizen Action Group opposed the measure, saying it “perpetuates long-debunked conspiracy theories and scapegoats our immigrant neighbors,” West Virginia Watch reported.
In Kansas, the amendment passed 64% to 36% with nearly all precincts reporting at midnight, the Kansas Reflector reported. It rewrites the constitution to say no person is a qualified elector unless a U.S. citizen.
Rep. Pat Proctor, the House Elections Committee chairman who led the push, backed the measure, along with Americans for Citizen Voting, KCTV5 reported. The ACLU of Kansas and the League of Women Voters of Kansas opposed it.
Opponents warned the new wording could be used to justify proof-of-citizenship rules. Proctor has noted that an earlier Kansas proof-of-citizenship law was struck down by the state Supreme Court.
In Arkansas, Issue 1 was projected to pass by Decision Desk HQ, with about 69% voting yes early Wednesday. NBC News also shows the measure passing, with 69.1% yes and 99% of the expected vote counted.
The Arkansas amendment says only U.S. citizens who are at least 18, Arkansas residents, registered and able to show photo ID may vote. It replaces language saying such people “may” vote with “only” those who qualify.
Voter ID Measures Split
Elsewhere, voter ID amendments passed in Ohio, North Carolina and Nevada, the AP reported. Voters in California and Colorado rejected measures that would have tightened ID rules for voting.
California opponents defeated their state’s measure by linking it to President Donald Trump. It would have required government ID to vote in person or the last four digits of an ID number to vote by mail.
Americans for Citizen Voting says 15 states have amended their constitutions to bar noncitizens from voting in local, state and federal elections.
The amendments come as the federal SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register, remains stalled in the Senate. With Democrats taking control of Congress, its path looks even harder, a point opponents in Kansas raised before the vote.
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