Proposed amendment to the state constitution regarding ballots in North Carolina

At the bottom of the ballot this year, voters will see a section titled “Referendum.” This section proposes an amendment to the state constitution.

The proposed amendment reads: “Constitutional amendment providing that only a citizen of the United States who has attained the age of 18 years and is otherwise qualified to vote shall be entitled to vote in any election in this State.”

Voters will be given the opportunity to vote for the amendment or against the amendment.

If the referendum is approved with a majority of yes votes, the change will come into force after the election is confirmed.

The wording in the state constitution already limits the right to vote to US citizens.

Section 1, Article VI of the state constitution currently states that voting is limited to: “Every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized, is 18 years of age and possesses the qualifications set forth in this article is eligible to vote. “to vote at every election of the people of the state, unless otherwise provided herein.”

A 1996 federal law says voting in federal elections by noncitizens is illegal and punishable by a fine, prison time, or both.

Catawba County Republican Party First Vice Chairman Bill Shillito said the county Republican Party is encouraging people to vote for the amendment.

Shillito said via email that the proposal “seems to be a simple clarification of the existing law and reduces the likelihood that future challenges to the law will be adjudicated.”

In the North Carolina House of Representatives, 99 representatives voted to put the referendum on the ballot and 12 voted against it. In the state Senate, 40 voted to put the amendment on the ballot, while four voted against it.

Critics of the proposed change say it is an attempt to incite fear about who votes in elections.

Catawba County Democratic Party Chairman Michael McLamb said the proposed change is a dog whistle.

“Non-citizens cannot legally vote in North Carolina or federal elections,” McLamb wrote by email. “The state constitution is clear. … Rather, this amendment opens doors to allow elected Republicans another mechanism to choose their voters.”

The data does not suggest that non-citizen voting is a widespread problem in North Carolina or other states.

According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, twelve cases of possible illegal voting were referred for prosecution in 2022. None of the cases involved allegations of voting by non-citizens.

In 2020, a case involving a non-citizen voter in Wayne County was referred for prosecution. Over 5.5 million North Carolinians voted in this election.

There are more than 7.7 million registered voters in North Carolina for the November election.

In a September press release, the state Board of Elections said about 750,000 people statewide were removed from county voter rolls between January 2023 and August 2024.

The most common reason people were removed was duplicate registration from another county in the state. The second most common reason was inactivity in two consecutive federal elections.

Registrants were also removed from voter rolls if they were deceased, moved to another state or were convicted of a felony, the state agency said.

When the registrations were removed, it was discovered that nine voters, 0.0001% of registered voters, were registered even though they may not have had citizenship.

According to Amy McCauley, director of strategic operations and communications for Catawba County, 11,220 voters were removed from the precinct between January 2023 and August 2024.

The most frequently cited reasons were moving, not participating in two consecutive federal elections or death.

Those who have been removed from office but believe they are eligible to vote should vote by mail or in person at early voting sites. Only currently registered voters can vote on Election Day.

Voting by mail or in person requires an acceptable form of identification, such as a driver's license, ID card or U.S. passport.

Early voting runs from October 17th to November 2nd.