OKLAHOMA CITY – A measure that would allow voters decide if only American citizens can vote in Oklahoma elections has passed the state legislature.
Senior Joint Resolution 23, also known as the Citizen Only Voting Amendment, passed on a 37-7 vote May 30. Just a few hours later, it passed the state House of Representatives on a 71-11 vote. Upon Thursday's passage, the bill puts the question to voters whether they want to amend the state constitution mandating that only citizens of the United States can be voters in state and local elections.
“Despite having just received SJR 23 on the last day of the legislative session, the House immediately took up this important resolution,” Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) said. “This further cements the House’s commitment to citizen only voting shown through our passage of HR 1047 earlier this session.
"Voting in Oklahoma elections should be a right reserved and protected only for those who are citizens of our great state.”
In the last few days, 60 lawmakers in both houses have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill that originally was sponsored and authored by Sen. Michael Bergstrom.
In a statewide poll conducted earlier this month, 90 percent of Oklahomans said only U.S. citizens should have the right to vote, while 83 percent say they would support the proposed state constitutional amendment.
Last week, Sen. Shane Jett (R-Shawnee) voiced his support for the resolution that was written by Bergstrom and House Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka).
“Ensuring that only citizens can vote is not just about protecting our elections; it's about honoring the rights and responsibilities that come with citizenship,” Jett said. “I urge my colleagues in the legislature to support this resolution and allow the people of Oklahoma to have their say on this crucial matter.
“I am confident that the people of Oklahoma will recognize the importance of this amendment and will support its passage. Together, we can strengthen the integrity of our electoral system and reaffirm our commitment to the principles of a constitutional republic.”
Oklahoma joins six other states — Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina and Wisconsin — in having such an amendment on the ballot this November. And North Carolina lawmakers are considering similar legislation.
If SJR23 hadn't passed or if it isn't approved by voters this fall, Jack Tomczak, vice-president of Outreach with Americans for Citizen Voting, said Oklahoma home rule municipalities could legalize non-citizen voting as have more than a dozen cities in California, Maryland, New York and Vermont.
Paul Jacob is chairman of the ACV. He said the public seems to be very strongly against the idea of allowing non-citizens vote in elections.
"It's a sign of how powerful this issue is," Jacob said after Oklahoma's passage. "It's simple and straightforward. You have to be a citizen to vote. Oklahomans believe in that and demanded their lawmakers make that clear in the constitution.
“We have a system in which an American citizen has power with their vote. You get to vote if you’re a citizen. If you open it up so others can vote, you lessen what citizenship means.”
ACV is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping citizens pass such amendments.
“There is no clear impediment for a municipality,” University of Kentucky law professor Joshua Douglas wrote about Oklahoma in The Right to Vote in Local Elections, “to extend the right to vote to non-citizens.”
Since 2018, six states have passed Citizen Only Voting Amendments with an average vote of 76 percent. Those six states are Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota and Ohio.
The Oklahoma survey was conducted May 17-19.
"The results of this survey are clear," said Paul Abner, ACV’s Oklahoma director. "Oklahomans recognize the importance of safeguarding our elections and are firmly behind Senate Joint Resolution 23, to restrict voting to only U.S. citizens. There’s still time for the Senate to do the right thing and pass SJR 23, which would put to the vote of the people that only U.S. citizens could vote in Oklahoma elections.
“I urge all Oklahomans to consider the implications of non-citizen voting and the overwhelming public mandate for maintaining strict citizenship voting requirements. This survey serves as a pivotal indicator of public opinion leading to the voting booth.”
ACV also has urged residents to contact their lawmakers to push to get the measure passed.
“Non-U.S.-citizens are now voting legally in many liberal, Democrat cities — San Francisco, New York City, even our nation’s Capitol – and many more,” an ACV radio ad states. “Even those here illegally get to vote.
“Worse, an expert on state voting laws says it could happen here. Any Oklahoma home-rule city could simply give non-citizens the right to vote. We couldn’t stop it. But our state legislature can stop it now. …
“Mysteriously, our state senate has failed to act against this threat, so the door remains wide open to non-citizens voting in Oklahoma.”
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,” AVC President Ava McCullah recently said. “Many people, even legislators, are unaware of this fact.”