Noncitizens may not currently vote in any election in North Carolina.
The state constitution says that “Every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized,” may vote. A statewide referendum on ballots this year proposes amending that to “Only a citizen of the United States” may vote.
The proposed change doesn’t really make sense because anyone born in the United States or naturalized is, by law, a citizen.
So why did both parties in the state legislature overwhelmingly vote for a bill to put this confusing measure before North Carolina voters?
In a GOP press release in support of the measure, Republican House Speaker Tim Moore said that “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.”
Some cities, including San Francisco, do allow noncitizens to vote for local offices like school boards. But it’s not clear what “efforts to allow non-citizens to vote” Moore is talking about, because, again, the North Carolina constitution does not allow noncitizens to vote in any election.
South Carolina, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin have similar measures on their ballots this year, although, like North Carolina, none of those states’ constitutions currently allow for noncitizens to vote.
“This pointless bill aims to confuse voters, sow distrust in our elections, and stir up anti-immigrant rhetoric. We will not stand for this misinformation,” says the ACLU of NC, joining groups like Democracy NC and the League of Women voters in advocating against the amendment.
Sen. Graig Meyer, a Democrat who represents Orange, Caswell, and Person Counties, is one of the few legislators who voted against the bill. He calls the referendum a Republican “turnout tool to match all of their anti-immigrant rhetoric” and urges Democrats and progressives to vote against it in this election.
But the measure seems to defy even that simple categorization, as Republicans have largely left it out of statewide messaging. It has not—unlike GOP talking points on immigration, inflation, and “parents’ rights” in education —permeated local or national campaigns. It has not been mentioned at a single campaign event that the INDY has covered this cycle.
That lack of information has left voters—Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated—more confused than motivated.
Some corners of Reddit have worried that this amendment could be the first step down a path toward possible disenfranchisement of naturalized citizens. Meyer doesn’t see it as that sinister, but he’s still annoyed that it’s even on the ballot to begin with.
“I don’t understand why any Democrat [in the legislature] would have voted for it,” says Meyer. “The constitution is a document that is foundational to how we build and maintain our democracy. It should not be a political toy.”
Because every Republican lawmaker in the General Assembly voted for the bill, it would’ve passed even without any Democratic support. And although Triangle Democrats seem to disapprove of the bill, their votes didn’t always make that clear.
Durham Rep. Marica Morey, who voted against the bill, suspects that some Democrats who voted for it were worried about handing political ammunition to Republican candidates on the campaign trail.
“If I had a contested election, a flier would go out [saying] that ‘Morey votes against citizen-only voting,’” Morey says.
Many of the Triangle’s legislators, though, are not in competitive races.
In a statement to the INDY, Durham Rep. Zack Hawkins, who is running unopposed for reelection, called the amendment “a cheap attempt to distract from the real issues my GOP colleagues have neglected in the General Assembly” and “a signaling bill that changes nothing for North Carolinians.”
But Hawkins still voted for the bill, arguing that “We can’t lean into Republican sensationalism, and voting against this political gimmick only fuels GOP misinformation efforts.”
“I’m not worried about GOP attacks, but I’m saddened that this issue got a vote before passing a budget or funding our public schools,” said Hawkins. “If my GOP colleagues were serious about voting rights, they’d be working with Democrats to make sure Carolinians affected by Helene can get to the polls – that’s the real story here.”
Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Wake County Democrat who has a Republican and Libertarian opponent this election cycle, also voted for the bill placing the amendment on ballots. He argued that, though a waste of time, it would not have any tangible impact.
“We should focus our efforts on legislation, litigation, and election efforts that actually hurt immigrants,” he said in an email to INDY, pointing out several examples of his advocacy for immigrant voters. “As one of the few children of immigrants to serve in the North Carolina General Assembly, I’m well aware of how Republicans have used anti-immigration legislation and rhetoric as a way to turn out their base.”
The INDY reached out to every Triangle Democrat in the legislature who voted for the measure. Senators Gale Adcock, Dan Blue, Mary Wills Bode, Lisa Grafstein, and Mike Woodard, as well as Representatives Allen Buansi, Allison Dahle, Ray Jeffers, and Tim Longest did not respond to interview requests. Rep. Ya Liu’s office asked for a phone interview, but did not call before publication.
The INDY also did not hear back from Sen. Rachel Hunt, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, who was absent from the June 27 vote.
Among Triangle Democrats, Sen. Natalie Murdock, as well as Reps. Maria Cervania, Sarah Crawford, Rosa Gill, and Renée Price joined Meyer and Morey in voting against the amendment proposal.
Reach Reporter Chase Pellegrini de Paur at [email protected]. Comment on this story at [email protected].