Texas governor makes it 'crystal clear' only U.S. citizens can vote in state elections:
Amendment requires voter approval as 25 states consider similar citizenship requirements
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation on Monday which he said makes it "crystal clear" that only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote in elections in his state.
"I just signed off on a joint resolution to make it crystal clear under the Texas Constitution that if you are not a citizen of the United States of America, you are not allowed to vote in Texas," the governor said in a video posted to X.
Texas State Senator Brian Birdwell, a Republican, introduced Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 37 in January, and in the resolution, he proposed a constitutional amendment clarifying that voters in Texas elections must be citizens of the U.S.
Prior to the resolution, the constitution prohibited people who are under the age of 18, along with those who were determined mentally incompetent by a court or who were convicted of a felony, from voting in elections.
But the amendment proposes adding a line to the classes of people who "shall not be allowed to vote" in Texas, which reads, "persons who are not citizens of the United States."
Birdwell’s joint resolution was approved by the state senate in April, then by the state house in May.
Abbott signed the joint resolution on Monday, but it still has one more step. In fact, Texas citizens will have the final say in November on whether the state constitution can be ratified to include the requirement in the state constitution. --->READ MORE HERE
Texans to Vote on Constitutional Amendment Banning Noncitizen Voting:
Texans will decide in November whether to add an amendment to their state constitution banning noncitizens from voting.
If approved, the amendment would be added to the constitution’s language prohibiting voting by anyone under the age of 18, for anyone deemed mentally incompetent by a court, and convicted felons, according to Ballotpedia.
In a bipartisan vote, the Texas Legislature approved the measure to go on the November ballot. In November 2024, voters in eight states approved either laws or constitutional amendments to allow only citizens to vote.
In 2026, residents of Arkansas, Kansas, and South Dakota are set vote on whether to adopt constitutional amendments for citizen-only voting, according to Ballotpedia.
The state measures in recent years came in response to several local governments allowing noncitizens to vote in races for city council or school board elections.
My book “The Myth of Suppression” details past instances where noncitizen voting affected the outcome of local elections.
A two-thirds majority in each house of the Texas Legislature is required to place a measure on the ballot. The Senate voted 28-3 in favor of the measure, as eight Democrats joined all of the Republicans. The House followed suit, with a vote of 102-14, as 15 Democrats joined 87 Republicans. The House had 22 members present who didn’t vote and 12 who were absent, according to Ballotpedia. --->READ MORE HERE
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