New NC Constitutional Amendment

North Carolinian voters have passed House Bill 1074 to alter the language of the state constitution’s Article 6 to require citizenship status to vote in elections.

HB 1074 passed Amendment 1, which prohibits all non-citizens from voting in state and local elections and appeared on North Carolinians’ ballots for the general election.

The amendment reads, "constitutional amendment to provide that only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age and otherwise possessing the qualifications for voting shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State.”

The amendment won nearly 78% of votes. Out of NC’s 100 counties, Durham and Orange County were the only ones with a majority voting against the amendment. The majority was slim, with about 53% of each county’s voters opposing it.

Non-US citizens are prohibited from voting in federal elections by federal law, but the decision of who can vote in local and state elections is largely up to individual states. Currently, non-citizens cannot vote in state elections, but Amendment 1 prevents North Carolina from passing laws that grant non-citizens the right to vote in future state and local elections. Local politics play a vital role in impacting Americans’ everyday lives.

Debates over the equity and necessity of the amendment range between NC Democrats and Republicans. Some Republicans suggest that clear language is important to avoid the possibility of non-citizens voting, while Democrats claim that the exclusive language isn’t needed to establish what is already stated by federal law, and the amendment pushes an anti-immigrant narrative around political participation.

Statistically, non-citizens are much less likely to vote, yet the NC GOP attempted to highlight the voter registration of potential non-citizens. Democrats claim this was a political strategy to spread fear through anti-immigration sentiments and increase Republican voter turnout.

Amendment 1 was added to Section 1, Article 6 of the NC State Constitution and can be found at ncleg.gov.

Sources:

1) “What’s the deal with the NC ballot question about noncitizen voting?” Carolina Public Press

2) “North Carolina voters to pass ‘citizens-only’ amendment,” ABC11

3) “North Carolina Constitutional Amendment 1,” Washington Post

4) “North Carolina Constitutional Amendment H1074/S630 Election Results,” New York Times