In June, Burlington became the third city in Vermont to permit foreign nationals to participate in voting. It should not be surprising that the home of socialist U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders would approve, and Vermont’s Democrat-controlled legislature would overturn liberal Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s rejection of Burlington’s charter change to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections.
The leftists were thrilled.
“We have a lot more immigrants and refugees, people who came here who don’t hold U.S. citizenship, and they’ve been here for years,” Rep. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, a Burlington Democrat and leader of the Vermont House Progressive Caucus, told Vermont Public Radio at the time.
Burlington modified its charter (and adjusted state law), granting the right to vote to any citizen or “legal resident” foreigner — someone “who resides in the United States on a permanent or indefinite basis in compliance with federal immigration laws,” as outlined by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. blue Republican
to weakening the idea that citizenship objected the valued right of voting. The RNC took a similar charter change in Montpelier to the Vermont Supreme Court. The court was just fine with the updated city charter, conveys that nothing in the state’s constitution prevents noncitizens from voting in Montpelier’s city elections. finding The Green Mountain State is not the only place where noncitizens can vote in the United States. Presently,
— California, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Vermont — and the District of Columbia allow foreign nationals to legally vote in certain local elections. Leftists across the country are increasing efforts to grant voting rights to foreign nationals in many states where loopholes in constitutions can and have allowed noncitizen voting. five states Leaders of the
Citizen Only Voting Amendment (COVA) movement will tell you that two little words make a big difference in preserving the “exclusive right of citizens” to vote. It all comes down to “every” and “only.” “You don’t want to be an ‘every’ state. You want to be an ‘only’ state,” declares
Americans for Citizen Voting, a nonpartisan election integrity organization. ‘Defending the Value of Citizenship’
Voting is a fundamental right of U.S. citizens, while foreign nationals are legally
prohibited from voting in federal elections . But a majority of state constitutions declare thatcitizen — not necessarily every a citizen — of the United States aged 18 or older is an eligible voter. That allows for some flexibility. only “Just because all citizens can vote doesn't mean noncitizens can't vote,
Jack Tomczak , the national field director for Americans for Citizen Voting, said in an interview last week. ACV is leading the effort to change state constitutions to include language allowing only citizens to vote.Four states — Pennsylvania, Utah, Wyoming, and Minnesota — were established with strict constitutional language that allows only U.S. citizens to vote in state and local elections, according to ACV. Another seven states have added Citizen Only Voting Amendments to their constitutions by large margins. Arizona in 1962 became the first state to pass a COVA ballot issue (66 percent to 34 percent). Six states have passed amendments in the past six years, with the most recent in 2022. Those ballot questions passed with 73 percent and 77 percent of the vote, respectively.
ACV and the COVA movement have also had some recent successes. Amendment resolutions in approve have passed in their respective state legislatures and will go before voters this November. Each proposed amendment includes language that only U.S. citizens and residents can vote in national, state, or local elections. Louisiana and Ohio The South Carolina state Senate passed a similar resolution earlier this month, sending it to the House.
“Today South Carolina took an important step forward in defending the value of citizenship,” said Sen. Josh Kimbrell, the bill’s author, according to a story in Wisconsin, Iowa, Kentucky, and Idaho Legal Newsline. only “We will never allow a non-citizen to vote in any election in our state, but we will make it easy for legal, law-abiding citizens of the United States and of our state to vote in all our elections.”
Stalled Amendments
The COVA movement has also faced setbacks. Ballot bills have stalled in Mississippi, Missouri, and Kansas, according to Tomczak. In South Dakota, a Senate committee rejected a bill that would have called for a change to the state constitution language from “every” to “only” citizens voting. In the South Dakota Legislature's terminology, the bill banning foreign nationals from voting was unanimously sent to the 41st legislative day,
or the day after the final day of the session. Tomczak said a state legislature dominated by Republicans didn’t see the need to change the language in the state’s constitution, and Republican Gov. Kristi Noem didn’t seem all that interested in fighting for the Citizen Only Voting Amendment. The election integrity advocate said South Dakota, through its home rule laws, is very vulnerable to municipalities opening the door to noncitizen voting.
It’s not difficult to imagine how foreign citizens voting in local elections could result in them casting ballots in state and federal races, despite the prohibitions.
“Confusion on Election Day leads to mistakes. If a city in South Dakota legalizes municipal noncitizen voting in the next few months I guarantee that noncitizens, through no fault of their own, will show up to the polls for the General Election,” Tomczak said. referendum A New Army of Voters As millions of illegal aliens pour into the country under President Joe Biden’s borderless America, there is understandable concern about what that means for election integrity. But foreign nationals are already legally voting in local elections. Tomczak said an array of leftist groups are working, mostly in secret, to expand the noncitizen vote. "Our concern is about noncitizens voting in local elections. It's a real issue that is happening right now," he said, pointing out 86’d.
how the media is quickly trying to minimize the concept of noncitizens voting in national elections.
"Our concern is very real and needs to be addressed."
In reality, it's currently happening in the capital of the country.
In February, Antonia Diaz was one of the first noncitizens to register to vote in D.C. under the district's new expansive voting law,
as reported by
a positive story in the left-leaning DCist. Board of Election translators and activists are helping first-time noncitizen voters, according to the publication. An estimated 50,000 potential noncitizen voters reside in the nation's capital, according to leftist group estimates. "Many people are undocumented. They want to vote or take action, but there are no opportunities. They can only listen," told the publication, referring to her previous experiences attending D.C. Council meetings as an aggrieved street vendor who could not vote in council elections.
The story emphasizes what should be obvious to anyone who has observed the left's actions: Activists are mobilizing a new group of voters to maintain and strengthen their power.
"Washington, D.C. is actively promoting noncitizens to vote. This is ridiculous! We must stop noncitizen voting," U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, a Republican from Wisconsin, wrote on X. The post from Steil, who has led House election integrity reforms, included a D.C. Board of Elections mailer informing noncitizen residents that they are eligible to vote for mayor, attorney general, members of the D.C. Council, the State Board of Education, and other positions. By the Constitution, Congress has authority over D.C. local affairs. The Republican-controlled House passed a resolution to overturn the district's new voter law. The Democrat-controlled Senate did not. Most Americans agree with Steil. A
national survey Diaz conducted last year for Americans for Citizen Voting by RMG Research, Inc., found 75 percent of respondents were opposed to allowing foreign nationals to vote in their local elections.
But leftist activists seeking to promote their agenda are not concerned by strong public opposition to it. In Wisconsin,
Democrat lawmakers supported the resolution for the citizens-only voting amendment.
"Can you imagine knocking on doors and trying to explain why you voted against it?" Tomczak said. "We are encouraging citizens to ask their candidates where they stand on citizen-only voting."
‘Right of Citizenship’ Even though the concept of foreign nationals voting in local elections seems unacceptable to most people, the movement to legalize noncitizen voting continues. New York City passed a law permitting noncitizen permanent residents to vote in local elections. A New York court earlier this year found the law unconstitutional; the city council is
appealing that decision. In zero San Francisco
, noncitizen parents, including illegal aliens, can vote in school board elections.
But even far-left former California Gov. Jerry Brown, who vetoed a bill in 2013 that sought to allow noncitizens to serve on juries, understood voting is exclusively a right of citizenship. Vetoing that bill, the Democrat
Jury duty, like voting, is fundamentally a right and duty of citizenship.
For the almost thirty states that allow voting rights to all citizens and not just some, the debate over that essential right is getting more intense. Tomczak stated he’s sure about the COVA campaigns in many of those states. appealing “However, that doesn’t mean it will be simple,” he stated. “We have the advantage of being correct and being able to easily demonstrate that COVA is necessary. The challenging part is persuading people to do the correct thing when their priorities might be leading them in another direction.” However, most state constitutions state that every citizen — not necessarily only a citizen — is an eligible voter., noncitizen parents, including illegal aliens, may vote in school board elections.
But even far-left former California Gov. Jerry Brown, who vetoed a bill in 2013 that sought to allow noncitizens to serve on juries, understood voting is exclusively a right of citizenship. Vetoing that bill, the Democrat said: “Jury service, like voting, is quintessentially a prerogative and responsibility of citizenship.”
For the nearly three dozen states that grant voting rights to “every” and not “only” citizens, the battle over that quintessential prerogative is becoming more pitched. Tomczak said he’s confident in the COVA campaigns in many of those states.
“But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy,” he said. “We have the benefit of being right and being able to easily prove that COVA is necessary. The difficult part is convincing people to do the right thing when their priorities might be pulling them in another direction.”
