{"id":2365999,"date":"2024-11-08T08:10:59","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T13:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/voters-in-eight-states-overwhelmingly-approve-citizen-only-voting\/"},"modified":"2024-11-08T08:13:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T13:13:17","slug":"voters-in-eight-states-overwhelmingly-approve-citizen-only-voting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/voters-in-eight-states-overwhelmingly-approve-citizen-only-voting\/","title":{"rendered":"Voters In Eight States Overwhelmingly Approve Citizen-Only Voting"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvoters-in-eight-states-overwhelmingly-approve-citizen-only-voting%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2365999&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The recent election in eight\u2064 U.S. states \u200brevealed a strong consensus among voters regarding the notion that only U.S. citizens\u200b should be eligible to vote \u2062in \u2063elections. \u200bConstitutional \u2063amendments\u2063 aiming to prohibit noncitizen\u2062 voting \u2063were overwhelmingly approved in states including \u2062Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North \u200bCarolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, with\u200c support \u2062exceeding 70%\u200d in most. Advocates for the amendments, like \u200dWill Martin\u2063 from\u2063 Americans for Citizen Voting, highlighted the \u2062bipartisan\u200d support for these measures, despite facing opposition from various left-leaning groups \u2062who spread misinformation about potential voting restrictions on military personnel.<\/p>\n<p>In\u200d addition to affirming citizen-only voting, \u2062some states rejected <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/andrew-yang-has-commanding-lead-in-nyc-mayoral-race-poll-shows\/\" title=\"Andrew Yang Has Commanding Lead In NYC Mayoral Race, Poll Shows\">ranked-choice voting<\/a> initiatives. Critics of\u2062 the amendments argue \u200cthat existing state laws already\u200c prevent noncitizens \u200bfrom voting and claim that this push\u200b for added clarity is baseless\u200d and politically \u2062motivated.\u200d Proponents maintain that noncitizen voting is a real concern, \u2064underscoring the lack of tracking and enforcement regarding voter rolls. The recent passage of \u2063these amendments represents a significant\u2063 step in what \u2063advocates see as \u200ba common-sense\u200c movement toward preserving electoral integrity.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>As divided as America may be, this election showed there&rsquo;s one thing most Americans agree on: Only U.S. citizens should vote in U.S. elections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Voters this week in eight states &mdash;<a href=\"https:\/\/idahocapitalsun.com\/2024\/11\/06\/idaho-constitutional-amendment-to-ban-noncitizen-voting-leads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Idaho,<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/iowacapitaldispatch.com\/2024\/11\/05\/ap-iowans-approve-constitutional-amendment-on-voter-age-citizenship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Iowa,<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kentucky.com\/news\/politics-government\/article294703464.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kentucky<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcur.org\/politics-elections-and-government\/2024-11-05\/missouri-amendment-7-ranked-choice-voting-noncitizen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Missouri,<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/05\/north-carolina-passes-citizens-only-voting-amendment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">North Carolina<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news9.com\/story\/672c0d1c3785e88562784c1a\/oklahoma-voters-pass-citizen-only-voting-measure-turn-down-tax-district-proposal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oklahoma,<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews4.com\/news\/local\/south-carolina-voters-approve-constitutional-change-to-specify-only-citizens-can-vote-nancy-mace-republicans-wciv-abc-news-4-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">South Carolina<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpr.org\/news\/wisconsin-voters-ok-changes-constitution-citizens-voting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wisconsin<\/a> &mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">overwhelmingly approved constitutional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/missouri-judge-rewrites-ballot-questions-for-abortion-amendment-to-remove-unborn-child\/\" title=\"Missouri judge edits abortion amendment ballot questions, removes &#039;unborn child&#039;.\">amendment ballot questions<\/a> seeking<\/a> to ensure noncitizens cannot vote in state and local elections. Foreign nationals are  already barred from voting in federal elections.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re so often told about how divided we are in the United States, but on Tuesday we had Republicans, Democrats and independents come together in overwhelming numbers declaring that only citizens would be able to vote&rdquo; in elections, a jubilant <a href=\"https:\/\/drydenwire.com\/news\/americans-for-citizen-voting-names-will-martin-as-state-director\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Will Martin,<\/a> Wisconsin state director of <a href=\"https:\/\/onlycitizens.vote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Americans for Citizen Voting<\/a>, told The Federalist in a phone interview this week.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Badger State&rsquo;s Citizen-Only Voting Amendment (COVA) was endorsed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpr.org\/news\/wisconsin-voters-ok-changes-constitution-citizens-voting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more than 70 percent of voters<\/a> in Tuesday&rsquo;s election, according to unofficial tallies. Support topped 65 percent in each of the states with COVA questions on the ballot, according to unofficial results reported by state news organizations. In Iowa, the referendum passed with <a href=\"https:\/\/iowacapitaldispatch.com\/2024\/11\/05\/ap-iowans-approve-constitutional-amendment-on-voter-age-citizenship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">76 percent<\/a> support. In South Carolina, the ballot question earned the approval of a whopping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.postandcourier.com\/news\/sc-constitution-changed-on-who-can-vote\/article_d3555684-9872-11ef-9538-c3149b79c8d8.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">86 percent <\/a>of voters.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In Missouri, the same <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcur.org\/politics-elections-and-government\/2024-11-05\/missouri-amendment-7-ranked-choice-voting-noncitizen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ballot question<\/a> amending the state constitution to make clear only citizens can vote in Show Me State elections also knocked out <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/06\/voters-across-the-country-take-a-sledgehammer-to-ranked-choice-voting-initiatives\/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=voters-across-the-country-take-a-sledgehammer-to-ranked-choice-voting-initiatives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ranked-choice voting<\/a> by a two-to-one margin.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Before Election Day, COVA advocates felt confident, but Wisconsin presented the biggest challenge. <a href=\"https:\/\/onlycitizens.vote\/acv-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jack Tomczak<\/a>, vice president for Citizen Outreach for <a href=\"https:\/\/onlycitizens.vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Americans for Citizen Voting<\/a>, told The Federalist that the amendment faced &ldquo;well-funded&rdquo; opposition led by the leftist League of Women Voters. More than three dozen leftist groups lent their names and resources to an effort to defeat the referendum.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Martin said opponents ran &ldquo;shameful&rdquo; ads falsely warning voters that military personnel wouldn&rsquo;t be able to vote in Wisconsin elections if the amendment passed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In Idaho, Democrat lawmakers <a href=\"https:\/\/idahocapitalsun.com\/2024\/11\/06\/idaho-constitutional-amendment-to-ban-noncitizen-voting-leads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claimed<\/a> noncitizens could be barred from voting in private elections, including homeowner associations and parent-teacher associations elections. The amendment ballot questions had nothing to do with such races, just as they don&rsquo;t involve federal election law.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Being Diminished&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Opponents, assisted by the accomplice media, pushed the left&rsquo;s false talking point that foreign nationals voting in elections is nearly nonexistent and that the constitutions in Wisconsin and the other states already bar noncitizens from voting.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Passage of the amendments marks the latest chapter of Republican&rsquo;s [sic] ongoing efforts to put unfounded claims of noncitizen voting at the center of a broader political strategy,&rdquo; Democratic Party mouthpiece NBC News <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2024-election\/ballot-measures-targeting-noncitizen-voting-approved-8-states-rcna178888\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> this week.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the words of outgoing acting President Joe Biden, malarky.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist has <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/06\/eight-states-poised-to-decide-on-citizens-only-voting-amendments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, the vast majority of states&rsquo; constitutions include language that &ldquo;every&rdquo; citizen meeting age and residency requirements is eligible to vote. The amendments demand that &ldquo;only&rdquo; U.S. citizens meeting the requirements are electors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Opponents of the COVA movement insist there&rsquo;s no difference. The &ldquo;every&rdquo; phrasing opens the door to noncitizens being allowed to vote in state and local elections, as is the case in <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Laws_permitting_noncitizens_to_vote_in_the_United_States#Details_about_noncitizen_voting_in_local_elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">California, Maryland, Vermont and the District of Columbia<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In September, Frederick became the largest city in Maryland to allow noncitizens to vote in its elections. The Board of Aldermen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbaltimore.com\/news\/local\/frederick-maryland-non-citizens-voting-rights-local-election-voters-green-card-holders-undocumented-immigrants-republicans-democrats-controversial-us-citizen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voted 4-1<\/a> to give green card and illegal immigrants the right to cast ballots. Kelly Russell was the sole dissenting vote.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I have talked to many people who worked to get their citizenship in order to vote who do not agree to that, who feel that their efforts and all the hard work that they did is being diminished by this,&rdquo; she said, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbaltimore.com\/news\/local\/frederick-maryland-non-citizens-voting-rights-local-election-voters-green-card-holders-undocumented-immigrants-republicans-democrats-controversial-us-citizen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> Fox45 News in Baltimore.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Takoma Park, Maryland, has allowed foreign nationals to vote in local elections for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poynter.org\/fact-checking\/2024\/takoma-park-maryland-immigrants-can-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more than 30 years<\/a>. All told, a dozen Maryland municipalities open the franchise to noncitizens. They can because there&rsquo;s nothing in the state constitution that prevents them from doing so.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Common Sense&rsquo; Movement <\/h2>\n<p>Wisconsin legislative Democrats have <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/04\/left-wing-groups-are-fighting-to-kill-wisconsins-citizen-only-voting-amendment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voted en bloc<\/a> against resolutions to take the citizen-only amendment to the voters. While they insist noncitizens illegally voting in elections isn&rsquo;t an issue, it is. Noncitizens have voted in U.S. elections and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/08\/the-federal-government-is-fighting-to-keep-noncitizens-on-voter-rolls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">thousands have shown up<\/a> on state voter rolls this election cycle.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The problems are only magnified by an unprecedented <a href=\"https:\/\/homeland.house.gov\/2024\/05\/22\/startling-stats-factsheet-biden-administration-on-track-to-reach-10-million-encounters-nationwide-before-end-of-fiscal-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">10 million U.S. Border Patrol encounters<\/a> with illegal aliens in the nearly four years that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been in office. While it is a felony for foreign nationals to vote in U.S. elections, incidents are difficult to track and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/election-integrity\/report\/american-confidence-elections-preventing-noncitizen-voting-and-other\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">not a priority<\/a> for many prosecutors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There are at least 25 million non-citizens in the country according to the Census Bureau and no federal enforcement mechanism to ensure their names don&rsquo;t appear on the voters rolls,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefga.org\/fga-author\/paige-terryberry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Paige Terryberry<\/a>, senior research fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/18\/exclusive-new-report-details-growing-threat-of-noncitizens-voting-in-u-s-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> The Federalist in September. &ldquo;Right now, the Biden-Harris administration is using welfare offices, DMVs, Public housing, <a href=\"http:\/\/healthercare.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">healthercare.gov<\/a> and more to register voters, and they aren&rsquo;t verifying citizenship at these locations. States can act too, but the SAVE Act is the only thing that can fix this problem nationwide before the election.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Each illegal vote diminishes those of eligible voters.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Since 2018, <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Laws_permitting_noncitizens_to_vote_in_the_United_States#States_where_noncitizen_voting_is_prohibited\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">14 states<\/a> have added, or have voted to add, citizenship requirements to their constitutions, according to Ballotpedia.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Martin noted that swing state Wisconsin is a &ldquo;50-50&rdquo; state, as evident by former President Donald Trump&rsquo;s victory in the so-called &ldquo;blue wall&rdquo; state by a little over 28,000 votes. Still, the ballot question scored majorities in 71 of 72 counties, Martin said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The COVA advocate said the issue is part of a sea change in America, a return to basic guiding values.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Theres a movement in this country toward common sense,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;People are tired of people trying to interpret for them, people are tired of being told what to think.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>For more election news and updates, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/electionbriefing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">electionbriefing.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-knew-100-percent-he-was-fighting-for-the-little-guy-former-top-trump-economic-adviser\/\" title=\"Trump Knew \u2018100 Percent\u2019 He Was \u2018Fighting for the Little Guy\u2019: Former Top Trump Economic Adviser\">award-winning investigative reporter<\/a> and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most Americans agree: only U.S. citizens should vote<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2366000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-07-at-11.38.14-PM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[40303,34069,42178,4351],"class_list":["post-2365999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-citizens-rights","tag-election-news","tag-state-laws","tag-voting"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-07-at-11.38.14-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2365999"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2366003,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365999\/revisions\/2366003"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2366000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2365999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2365999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2365999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}