CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

Don’t be fooled by this seemingly harmless ballot item to amend the NC Constitution that you’ll find at the bottom of the second page of your ballot.

You are given the option of voting “For” or “Against” this amendment.

I’m encouraging you to vote “AGAINST.”

The existing NC Constitution language reads as follows: 

“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 2024 ballot measure for a “Constitutional Amendment” reads as follows:

” 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 at any election in this State.”

On the face of it, the existing Constitutional language and the language of the amendment are essentially the same (ie: you have to be a US citizen to vote), and many assume the Republican State Legislature simply threw this amendment willy nilly onto the ballot to rile up its base as it is so frequently wont to do.

State and federal laws already require U.S. citizenship to vote and that only qualified U.S. citizens can cast ballots.

It is also true that more than a third of all immigrants in North Carolina are naturalized U.S. citizens and that  removing the term “naturalization” from the constitutional voting qualifications opens the door to confusion and may prevent naturalized citizens from exercising their fundamental right to vote.

It is also true that the forced amendment “sows division across communities, promotes creates mistrust in our elections, and perpetuates anti-immigration hate and racism.”

But there’s a larger play at hand.

While our existing Constitution says we can register to vote if we “possess the qualifications set out in this Article,” the proposed amended text simply reads, “possessing the qualifications for voting.”  The current qualifications a voter must possess to register to vote, to actually cast a ballot, etc. are further spelled out the in the “Articles” of our Constitution. And Article VI, Sec 3(1) gives the NC Legislature the full authority to “enact general laws governing the registration of voters.”

The State Legislature is looking to go above & beyond the current requirements for voter registration so it can then add in a wishlist of additional qualifications required of a citizen to register to vote.

Think I’m wearing a tinfoil hat? I’m not. It’s already happening in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire recently enacted a new law that requires would-be voters to produce documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The only two recognized documents that prove US citizenship are US passports and certified birth certificates. (See video below).

Under the guise of the central lie about non-citizens actively breaking down doors to vote illegally and the continued demonization of immigrants, what we’re actually looking at is covert voter suppression, especially of young and first time voters.

New Hampshire is upping its game to pass numerous new voter laws to make it harder for college students to vote and are doggedly committed to find new ways to disenfranchise legal registrations. So is our NC Legislature. Look for new qualifications to register to vote coming to you soon if this amendment passes. And that’s what this amendment to the Constitution is all about.

Most college students and other young voters don’t carry around a ready copy of their birth certificate. If they’re lucky it’s in their parents’ lock box but not easy to get. Yet they are clearly citizens and have the right to vote where they attend college, living at their college address for 4 years.

Young voters almost always trail in voter turnout, not because they don’t want to vote but rather because of Republican legislatures, like ours, that are focused on keeping them as far away as possible from the ballot box. Young people are generally the voters the most often frustrated from voting because regressive states to every thing they can to shut out their ability to vote.

The Elias Law Group, the largest voting rights law group in the nation, is now suing New Hampshire over its newest law to thwart the voter registrations of College students. Watch the video below for the details.

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