Trump narrowly won two states where Citizen Only amendments passed overwhelmingly
Voters in eight states voted to amend their state constitutions to require that voters be citizens of the United States. Citizen Only Voting Amendments in Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin garnered lopsided majorities at the polls, according to an Americans for Citizen Voting Nov. 6 statement.
Vermont allows non-citizen voting in the Progressive/Democrat strongholds of Burlington, Montpelier and Winooski. Municipalities must first pass a charter change, which then must be approved by the Legislature before taking effect.
Gov. Phil Scott has vetoed municipal charter changes, only to see them overridden by the Legislature. He has indicated a willingness to consider a state-wide non-citizen voting law. With the loss of the Supermajority, it is unclear whether the Legislature has the will to seek statewide non-citizen voting.
In 2023, a national and state GOP challenge to Winooski’s non-citizen voting ordinance was rejected by the Vermont Supreme Court.
Non-citizens were allowed to vote in a Burlington referendum Tuesday, November 5 creating a police oversight panel. That charter change must be approved by the Legislature.
But voter appetite for non-citizen voting in local elections appeared negligible in the eight states, including two ‘battleground’ states in the presidential election.
“Voters in eight states sent a very clear and unmistakable message last night: Only citizens should vote,” said Americans for Citizen Voting Vice President of Outreach Jack Tomczak. “These Citizen Only Voting ballot measures also made a big difference in critical swing states. We won with 78 percent of the vote in North Carolina and 71 percent in Wisconsin.”
Republican Donald Trump won North Carolina with 51.1 percent of the vote and Wisconsin with 49.71 percent.
Non-citizen voting in municipal elections is also legal in California, Illinois, Maryland, and Washington, DC. The New York city council is currently blocked by the courts from letting 800,000 citizens of foreign countries vote in their local elections, but that case is on appeal.
Nineteen (19) cities currently allow non-citizen voting. Yesterday, voters in Santa Ana, California, decided not to become the 20th city, defeating Measure DD.
Federal law has prohibited non-citizen voting in federal elections since 1996. These Citizen Only Voting Amendments are amendments to state constitutions and have no impact on federal law or federal elections.
“Watch out in 2026! People in another dozen states are now anxious to pass these measures and clarify that only citizens can vote in their state and local elections,” concluded Tomczak.
Results:
IDAHO 65-35%
IOWA 76-24%
KENTUCKY 63-37%
MISSOURI 69-31%
NORTH CAROLINA 78-22%
OKLAHOMA 81-19%
SOUTH CAROLINA 86-14%
WISCONSIN 71-29%