Vote beat is a non-profit news group that covers elections and how they are run all over the United States. Here is where you can sign up for Vote beat Wisconsin’s free magazine.
A proposal on the November ballot to make it illegal for non-citizens to vote in Wisconsin would not really change who can vote because of current rules. But it would take away a choice that some people who want more people to be able to vote want to keep: letting noncitizens or younger voters vote in local elections.
It is already against the law for people who are not U.S. citizens to vote in Wisconsin elections for federal or statewide posts. But people who want to change the constitution have pointed to places in other states where noncitizens can vote in races for city council or school board, for example.
They say that the amendment is very important to keep Wisconsin from becoming like that.
They also say that stopping noncitizens from voting at the local level would save time and money for clerks because they wouldn’t have to make different ballots for voters who don’t want to vote in federal or state races. This could make running the election more difficult and cause more mistakes.
It’s part of a nationwide effort by Republicans to make people worry about large-scale illegal voting by noncitizens in state and federal races, even though experts say that’s not happening.
This November, people in North Carolina, Iowa, and a few other states will be able to vote on similar proposals.
The bill is also the latest example of how Republicans in charge of the Wisconsin Legislature use constitutional changes to get election-related laws passed without going through Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Constitutional amendments are different from regular bills in that the governor can’t reject them.
Bree Grossi Wilde, executive director of the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School, said, “In practice, it doesn’t seem like it will really make a difference, other than making it impossible for a place to let noncitizens vote.”
Experts say that as of now, none of Wisconsin’s cities or towns let noncitizens or people younger than 18 vote.
People who are against the measure say it could be the first step toward future laws that make you show proof of citizenship to register to vote, which would take away some people’s right to vote.
Some people also don’t like the idea that the state could stop cities and towns from trying to give 17-year-olds and noncitizens who want to have a say in their community the right to vote.
It is written in the Constitution that “every” U.S. person 18 or older has the right to vote. It would say that “only” a U.S. citizen 18 or older can vote in national, state, and local elections under the proposed amendment. People who are against the amendment say this phrase is less welcoming.
All over the country, bans on voting by people who are not citizens have been growing since 2020, when false claims of widespread election fraud by people who are not citizens spread through conservative groups and to the top levels of the Republican Party.
Former President and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump recently told House Republicans that they should shut down the government if Congress can’t pass a law that would make all Americans show proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
Noncitizens are a broad term that can include people who are in the U.S. illegally, people on work visas, and legal permanent residents, some of whom have lived here for decades. There are people who are brand new to the places they live and people who have raised their children and run businesses in those places.
Voting as a noncitizen in federal elections is already banned and doesn’t happen very often because of strong systems in place at the state and local levels to make sure people are eligible to vote and the high risks for anyone who tries: People who are not citizens and try to vote illegally can be charged with a crime, lose their legal right to live in the country, and be deported.
According to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice, election workers in 42 jurisdictions who were in charge of 23.5 million votes in the 2016 general election reported about 30 cases of possible noncitizen voting so that they could be investigated further or prosecuted.
A study by the Heritage Foundation of cases of election fraud found that noncitizens have voted in 20 cases that have been tried in the last 20 years.
But in some places, people who are not citizens can vote in city elections. The Washington Post reported that over 500 people registered to vote in a recent district council race in Washington, D.C., which allows it.
In San Francisco, some people who are not citizens can vote in elections for the school board. Foreigners can also vote in some places in Vermont and Maryland, even if they are not citizens.
Some Democrats in Wisconsin have said they want local governments to be able to let people who are not citizens vote.
Voces de la Frontera Action’s executive director, Christine Neumann-Ortiz, also supports giving noncitizens the right to vote in some local elections. She says, “It makes our democracy stronger, the more people are involved.”
People who support the amendment say that every vote cast by a noncitizen invalidates every ballot cast by a citizen.
According to Jim Steineke, a Republican former lawmaker and Assembly majority leader, these kinds of measures “weaken the rights of United States citizens by making non-citizens qualified electors and discouraging the naturalization process.” Steineke said this in a public comment about the plan.
“Taking care of this problem now will keep votes from being lost in the future,” he said.
“It’s best for the government to address this concern before it becomes a problem,” said Sen. Julian Bradley, R-Franklin, who was the lead author on the bill that was just passed.
Bradley didn’t agree with the idea put forward by some people who are against the change that some noncitizens should be able to vote in local elections because they pay taxes in those areas. He said that just because someone spends money in a place doesn’t mean they can vote there if they’re not a citizen.
Not citizens who said they wanted to become citizens could vote in Wisconsin for 60 years after it was founded. In 1908, when immigration to the U.S. was at its highest, voters passed an amendment that took away the right to vote for that group of people.
That amendment didn’t make it clear that cities and towns couldn’t let people who aren’t citizens vote in local elections, but the current plan would.
So far, neither people who are against the amendment nor people who are for it have run big mail or ad efforts to get the word out. Many people who follow politics think the measure will pass without the public’s attention, since constitutional change ballot questions usually do.
Freimann-Ortiz said, “I think it’s very important that more be done.” “People will vote against their own best interests if there isn’t more public education.”
Only one group, Wisconsin Family Action, signed up in support of it during its two trips through the Legislature.
The group’s interim president, Daniel Degner, said in a statement that the group and the vast majority of people think that only U.S. citizens should be able to vote. He was referring to a 2021 poll.
Groups fear citizenship proof requirement to vote
Opponents of the proposal are focusing on how it would effect current voters amid a dispute over whether noncitizens should vote.
The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and Neumann-Ortiz said the bill might pave the way for a future measure demanding citizenship at the polls. A Brennan Center estimate suggests that a nationwide legislation might disenfranchise up to 10% of U.S. citizens without citizenship documentation.
People registering to vote in Wisconsin must swear that they are U.S. citizens and will be 18 by the following election. They don’t have to prove citizenship, but lying on the registration form is a felony. To prevent noncitizens from voting with Wisconsin IDs, state agencies have added checks.
Wilde said that state law allows clerks challenging a voter’s registration form to request naturalization documentation, but this is not required.
Proponents denied that the constitutional amendment would lead to tighter citizenship proof laws. Uncertain if the change is needed for such a measure to pass.
Rick Esenberg, founder of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, said the Legislature might pass a citizenship verification requirement before the amendment.
“The [Legislature] decides whether and how much proof it needs,” he stated. “And it will remain up to them after this passes.”
Senate author Bradley believes Wisconsin voters should have to verify their U.S. citizenship, but the amendment has nothing to do with that.
“We will address the next question in the next legislature,” he stated.
Voting in federal elections does not require citizenship documentation. Thus, any additional rule would cause a controversy like Arizona’s for nearly 10 years.
Arizona required documented proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote, but the Supreme Court barred it in federal elections. That means Arizona has a separate roster for voters without proof who can only vote in federal elections for president and Congress.
Federal-only voters are mostly young adults living on or near college campuses, many of whom are out-of-state college students without citizenship documentation, according to Votebeat.
Would the new language weaken voter protections?
Some voting rights groups worry that if Wisconsinites accept the new constitutional clause, it may weaken voter protections. They note that the proposed amendment would specify “only” U.S. citizens can vote, although the current constitution states that “every” citizen can vote.
“From there, there could be further voting restrictions, and if there are legal challenges, we won’t be able to say, ‘Well, the constitution guarantees that every citizen can vote.’ Thus, it will lose its protection, said League of Women Voters of Wisconsin voter education manager Eileen Newcomer.
Law Forward, which promotes inclusive voting policies, staff lawyer Dan Lenz said additional constitutional provisions preserve Wisconsin voting rights. He claimed this one’s possible alteration “makes it exclusive.” However you look at it, that is less than what we have.”
The constitution, not state law, makes it difficult for successive legislatures to correct unexpected repercussions, thus Lenz argued constitutional amendments are unsuitable for election policy.
“Instead, they have to restart the amendment process,” Lenz added, “and that takes a minimum of several years.”
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty’s Esenberg doubted the amendment would allow another voting limitation that couldn’t be implemented now.
He stated, “Given the history of the amendment (which is clearly aimed at noncitizen voting), it’s hard to imagine what limitation that is not possible today would sneak in.” “This [viewpoint] seems like an attempt to make the issue other than noncitizen voting.”
Wilde said the Wisconsin Supreme Court may rule on whether the change from “every” to “only” is legally meaningful if the provision is challenged.
Constitutional amendment proposals must pass the Legislature twice before people decide. Republicans argue the amendment process protects and advances conservative programs they fear the liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court or a Democratic Legislature will overturn.
They’ve also passed policies Evers would likely veto.
Voters passed two GOP-written constitutional amendments in April barring private election grants and restricting election officials’ outside aid. In August, voters rejected two GOP proposals that would have reduced governor discretion over federal monies.
Republicans are blamed for supporting constitutional changes to implement restricted policy changes by voting rights supporters.
“That’s bad business. It’s not how to legislate and develop policy, Newcomer added. “The constitution is a sacred document that protects our rights, so any change to it must be taken seriously.”