A change to the North Carolina Constitution, called the "Citizens-Only Amendment," is on the ballot in this year's General Election.  

What You Need To Know

  • The Citizens-Only Amendment changes specific language of the North Carolina Constitution 

  • Opponents say the amendment is vague, unnecessary and anti-immigrant
  • Proponents of the measure say it would help protect voting in the future
  • The amendment change will go into effect after Nov. 5 if a majority of North Carolinians vote for it

Some people have criticized the amendment, which passed through the Republican-led General Assembly as House Bill 1074, for it's vague language.

The ballot measure reads: "Constitutional amendment to provide that only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age and otherwise possessing the qualifications for voting shall be entitled to vote any election in this state."

Voters can cast their ballots on the amendment as for or against the measure. The amendment would be approved with a simple majority of votes in the General Election.

The amendment would change this sentence in the state constitution: "Every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized, 18 years of age, and possessing the qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people of the State, except as herein otherwise provided."

The North Carolina Justice Center is against the bill. The left-leaning center said the amendment change is unnecessary, anti-immigrant and will oppress immigrant communities in North Carolina. 

“As an immigrant in North Carolina who went through the grueling process of naturalization so that I could become a citizen and participate in democracy by voting, I fear that this proposed change in the language of our constitution is a stepping stone to further disenfranchising and disempowering us and our communities,” Jasmina Nogo, an attorney at the Justice Center, said in a press release from the NCJC. 

Dr. Andy Jackson, the director of the conservative Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, said he supports with the proposed constitutional amendment. Jackson believes this amendment change is a check on future courts and the current language of the amendment specifies that people born in the U.S. or naturalized can vote, but it doesn’t say anything about noncitizens.

“We already have a statute that says only citizens can vote, but the problem with that is sometimes judges can be creative in their interpretation of the statute and what is constitutional or not constitutional. So, our idea is that we want to have unequivocal language in the constitution that only citizens can vote in North Carolina,” Jackson said in an interview with Spectrum News 1.

 

 

  

The amendment change was introduced by Republican leaders in the state House in May and passed the House and Senate in June with GOP supermajorities. 

The amendment change will go into effect after Nov. 5 if enough North Carolinians vote for it.