Wisconsin Voters Approve State Constitution Change Requiring Citizenship to Vote
Wisconsin voters have overwhelmingly approved a state constitution change that now requires citizenship to vote in elections. The ballot measure received an impressive 75% approval with over 95% of the statewide votes counted.
Previously, the Wisconsin constitution allowed “Every United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district” to be a qualified voter. The approved ballot proposal replaces the phrase “every United States citizen” with “only a United States citizen.”
This significant change comes as leaders in the state have been advocating for a process to verify the voter rolls and remove noncitizens, thereby ensuring the integrity of elections in Wisconsin.
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Currently, election commissions are unable to cross-check their rolls with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to identify an estimated 90,000 individuals who are legally in the state and eligible for a driver’s license but are not eligible to vote.
Despite the overwhelming support for the ballot measure, several voting groups, including the League of Women Voters, have expressed their opposition. The League of Women Voters stated, “The change from ‘every’ to ‘only’ is a downgrade to all of our voting rights. The language alters our constitutionally protected voting rights from a guarantee for all citizens to a limitation that could potentially erode our voting rights.”
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
