A resolution that would have put the issue of citizen only voting before Mississippians has died in a state Senate committee.
But there still is a way for the proposal to see the light of day.
House Concurrent Resolution 17 passed the House with a 110-4 vote earlier this session, but it failed to make it out of the Senate Constitutional Committee on March 4.
Sen. Angela Hill (R-Picayune) is chairwoman of the Constitutional Committee.
“Our constitution already says you must be a citizen to vote as well as our state statutes when describing a qualified elector,” Hill told Legal Newsline. “All clerks follow the same electoral system in our state.
Jack Tomczak of Americans for Citizen Voting has been working to get the issue before Mississippi voters in the form of a constitutional amendment.
“Last year, we had the same bill,” Tomczak told Legal Newsline. “It got through the House, went to Senate, was sent to the Constitution Committee and died there.”
“Hill is a rock-solid conservative. I don’t know why this is such a controversial issue. It has overwhelming support in the state.”
According to a recent survey, 75 percent of Mississippi voters support a citizen only voting amendment.
The president of Americans for Citizen Voting agrees.
“Citizen Only Voting is a non-partisan and non-political issue,” said Avi McCulluh, an immigrant and naturalized citizen, told Legal Newsline. “The broad ideological support in the Mississippi House proves that.”
Supporters of the amendment say Mississippi legislators who stand in the way of the amendment could face backlash from the voters in 2027, especially if they are running for statewide office.
While the bill currently is listed as dead with the Legislature, there still is a slim chance of revival.
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, a Republican, could suspend Senate rules and push the measure through. As president of the Senate, Hosemann has considerable power, including selecting committee chairs. Some say his role is the most powerful in state government, even more than the governor.
Hosemann, 77, has said he is considering running for governor in 2027 after he terms out as lieutenant governor. He previously served as Mississippi’s Secretary of State from 2008 to 2020.
Current Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson, who is rumored to be eyeing the lieutenant governor position in 2027, supports a citizen only voting amendment.
If the measure was passed, Mississippi voters would be able to decide if Section 241 of the state constitution regarding eligibility of electors should be changed.
“Every inhabitant of this state, except idiots and insane persons, who is a citizen of the United States of America, eighteen years old and upward … who has never been convicted of murder, rape, bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, forgery, embezzlement or bigamy, is declared to be a qualified elector,” the constitution currently states.
The amended section would change the first word “every” to “only an.”
The issue would be on the November 2026 general election ballot with an explanation that reads, “This proposed constitutional amendment provides that only citizens of the United States are allowed the opportunity to vote.”
Tomczak says the issue of non-citizens voting in Mississippi might not be an immediate problem, but it could be in the future.
“We need to get ahead of it while there is a Republican majority in power,” he told Legal Newsline. “Before it’s too late. You don’t wait until it’s raining to put a roof on a house.”
Eight states passed citizen only voting amendments in 2024. Americans for Citizen Voting calls it a non-partisan issue with broad support.