An amendment to ensure only American citizens can vote in Idaho elections will be put before state voters in this fall’s general election.
On March 25, House Joint Resolution 5 passed the Idaho Senate on a 28-6-1 vote. It previously passed the House on March 11 by a 63-6-1 vote. That means Idaho voters will decide whether to add citizen-only voting to the state constitution in this November’s General Election.
“Idahoans want safe and reliable elections,” said Rep. Kevin Andrus, who sponsored the legislation. “With the approval of House Joint Resolution 5, we are giving Idahoans a chance to vote for a constitutional amendment that ensures only U.S. citizens can vote in Idaho’s elections.
“I’m confident in November that Idahoans will overwhelmingly vote in favor of citizen-only voting.”
Idaho joins Iowa, Kentucky and Wisconsin whose voters will have similar measures on the ballot this November.
“State legislators have noticed the success of the non-citizen voting movement and are taking action to stop it,” Americans for Citizen Voting President Avi McCullah said. “We are three months into the year and two states have passed COVA. There will be more.”
In recent years, city councils in New York, Washington and three cities in Vermont have voted to legalize foreign citizen voting. They join cities in California, Illinois and Maryland that, because of a loophole in their state constitutions, also allow foreign citizens to vote.
“Most state constitutions do not specifically prohibit foreign citizen voting. Many people, even legislators, are unaware of this fact,” McCullah said. “This November, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky and Wisconsin will join the 11 states whose constitutions reserve the right to vote for only citizens of the United States.
“But that’s not all, COVA is working through the legislative process in about 10 states right now. This November, citizens in many other states will be voting for COVA and protecting the citizens’ right to vote.”
Americans for Citizen Voting is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping citizens pass such amendments.
In recent years, the following states have passed these amendments: Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Ohio and North Dakota. Similar efforts are underway in Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia.
And a delegate in the Virginia General Assembly introduced legislation earlier this year that would require Virginia residents to prove U.S. citizenship when registering to vote by providing a birth certificate, passport or naturalization documents.
Just this week, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and state Senate President Craig Blair said they want to see the issue on the agenda for a planned special session after the legislation stalled during the regular session that ended earlier this month.