Raleigh. A bill introduced by the Republican leaders in the state General Assembly would amend the North Carolina constitution to ratify that only U.S. citizens can vote in the state.
The state constitution already states that only citizens have the right to vote, but Legislature leaders are proposing to change the wording of Article 6 to say the same thing with different words.
Article 6 of the Constitution currently states that, “every person born in the United States, and every person who has been naturalized, who is 18 years of age, and possesses the qualifications set forth in this Article, shall have the right to vote.”
House Bill 1074 proposes to change the wording of that article to say that, “only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age and possesses the qualifications set forth in this Article shall have the right to vote.”
The proposal was introduced by Republican Legislator Destin Hall (District 87) and has the support of the main Republican leaders, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Tim Moore (District 111).
Proponents of the reform say it is necessary to prevent fraud and safeguard in the electoral process.
“In North Carolina, we value the integrity of our elections and have put safeguards in place to ensure our elections are secure”, Moore said in a statement. “Recent efforts to allow non-citizens to vote would undermine the public’s confidence in our electoral system and leave the door open for chaos and election fraud to take hold.”
“Tightening our elections laws so that only U.S. citizens are voting in this country ensures that those making decisions about our country’s future have a vested interest in its well-being”, Hall said in a statement, “Voting is a fundamental right and privilege reserved for citizens of the United States, and I am proud to support this effort to ensure the integrity of our elections.”
Reform could be in the ballot in November
For the proposed constitutional reform to move forward, according to the law, it must be approved by a qualified majority in both chambers of the Legislature; that is, 30 votes in the Senate and 72 in the House of Representatives.
If passed, the constitutional amendment would be added to the November general election ballot, so that all North Carolina voters can answer whether they agree or disagree.
If the amendment receives the support of most voters, the secretary of state must certify the amendment to give effect to the Constitution change.
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