Citizen-Only Voting Measure Added to November Ballot In South Carolina

Lawmakers in South Carolina have added a significant election integrity measure to the November poll that may solely enable American residents to vote in all state elections.

The Citizens Only Voting Amendment would alter the state’s structure. The measure handed the South Carolina House of Representatives on a 105-0 vote on May 2. Senate Joint Resolution 1126 handed the Senate final month by a 40-3 vote, in accordance to Legal Newsline.

“Today, South Carolina took an important step forward in defending the value of citizenship,” Senator Josh Kimbrell, the invoice’s writer, stated. “We will never allow a non-citizen to vote in any election in our state, but we will make it easy for legal, law-abiding citizens of the United States and of our state to vote in all our elections. Citizenship matters and this vote proves that point.”

Kimbrell, a Republican from Spartanburg, anticipates that voters will approve of the modification this autumn. Recent polling signifies that at the least 80 % of South Carolinians endorse the change. A easy majority of voters within the November normal election is all that’s required to move the modification.

“This is something that everyone should agree with,” Kimbrell stated. “This isn’t a partisan problem. Protecting voting rights is vital. We shouldn’t have individuals who aren’t residents of South Carolina or the nation voting in any election, whether or not it’s a faculty board race, a metropolis election or a statewide race.

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“We’re just trying to eliminate any ambiguity here. We don’t want there to be any legal way to interpret the constitution that would allow this to happen,” he added.

The modification solely requires altering a number of phrases within the state’s structure.

Instead of “Every citizen of …,” the modification would change it to, “Only a citizen of the United States and of this state of the age of eighteen and upwards who is properly registered is entitled to vote as provided by law.”

“This is a tremendous victory for the citizens of South Carolina,” Americans for Citizen Voting President Avi McCullah has stated. His group assists states in crafting acceptable laws to make sure that solely residents are voting of their elections.

“Most state constitutions do not specifically prohibit foreign citizen voting,” McCullah stated. “Many people, even legislators, are unaware of this fact.”

The information outlet famous additional:

In March, Idaho lawmakers handed an identical measure to be part of Iowa, Kentucky and Wisconsin whose voters can have related measures on the poll this November.

In current years, metropolis councils in New York, Washington and three cities in Vermont have voted to legalize international citizen voting. They be part of cities in California, Illinois and Maryland that, due to a loophole of their state constitutions, additionally enable international residents to vote.

If authorised by voters, South Carolina – in addition to Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky and Wisconsin – will be part of 11 states whose constitutions reserve the appropriate to vote for under residents of the United States. In current years, the next states have handed these amendments: Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Ohio and North Dakota. Similar efforts are underway in Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia, the outlet famous.

Last month, the U.S. third Circuit Court of Appeals decided that would have an effect on the swing state of Pennsylvania, in addition to different swing states, an enormous victory for Republicans in search of voter integrity.

The court docket overturned the order of a federal district court docket and dominated in favor of the Republican National Committee (RNC) relating to signature verification for mail-in voting within the “crucial” state of Pennsylvania.

According to NPR, the case revolved round whether or not mail-in ballots that have been mailed on time however both had an incorrect date or no date in any respect underneath the voter’s signature ought to be counted.

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