America’s Leaders Should Be Chosen by American Citizens

A merica’s leaders should be chosen by American citizens. It isn’t controversial. It’s just common sense. Nonetheless, woke liberals in cities such as New York and San Francisco are pushing through noncitizen voting even over the opposition of majorities of their own voters. The U.S. must amend its Constitution to clarify that the privilege of choosing leaders should belong only to those who have willingly, and lawfully, committed to joining its ranks.

This is no wild departure from normal procedure. Nor is it a Hail Mary in an election year. A citizens-only amendment is something I made part of my platform when I ran for secretary of state in 2018. To counter a growing push in New York, Vermont, San Diego, and other liberal enclaves to allow noncitizens to vote, it is time to take a stand and protect the integrity of our elections from this extreme liberal agenda.

In Georgia, I have made citizens-only voting a priority. Georgia already conducts citizenship verification during the voter-registration process through a partnership with the Georgia Department of Driver Services and was one of the first states in the country to be 100 percent REAL ID compliant.

Additionally, I recently conducted a citizenship check of Georgia’s more than seven-million-person-long voter-registration list. We identified only around 1,600 registrants who may not be U.S. citizens. These registrants had already been flagged as potential noncitizens and were not allowed to vote without showing proof of citizenship. Nonetheless, registering to vote when you are not a citizen in Georgia is against the law, and I am referring these individuals for further investigation.

Conducting simple, commonsense citizenship checks such as this one in Georgia, where noncitizen voting is against the law but not the state constitution, helps uphold the integrity of our elections. But the Biden administration and its allies want to make verifying voter citizenship impossible. Under H.R. 4 (the federal elections-takeover bill Congress rightly rejected last week), for example, secretaries of state would only be allowed to research someone’s citizenship status if there were specific evidence that person was a noncitizen, rather than in the case of failure to provide evidence of citizenship when that person registered to vote.

Unsurprisingly, support for citizens-only voting is bipartisan and overwhelming. In fact, most Americans I have spoken with about a citizens-only amendment assume, albeit incorrectly, that this is already part of the Constitution.

A 2019 poll found that 75 percent of likely voters believed only U.S. citizens should vote in U.S. elections, including 75 percent of self-described “non-partisan” voters, 60 percent of Democrats, and majorities of every demographic group. Seventy-two percent strongly or somewhat supported a measure to clarify that only U.S. citizens can vote in federal, state, or local elections, including 70 percent of “nonpartisan” voters, 62 percent of Democrats polled and, again, every demographic group.

Similarly, a 2018 poll found that 71 percent of Americans, including 70 percent of independents and 54 percent of Democrats, opposed San Francisco’s efforts to allow noncitizens to vote in the city’s school-board elections.

Florida’s citizens-only voting amendment garnered the support of almost 80 percent of the state’s voters in November 2020. Colorado’s passed on the same day with 63 percent of the vote, and Alabama’s passed with the support of 77 percent of the state’s voters.

Notably, black voters overwhelmingly support (56 percent) reserving the right of choosing America’s leaders to American citizens only. The history of America’s black population is one of struggle for equal rights of citizenship and access to the ballot box. America’s black community sacrificed enormously to be treated equally in the United States, a fight that continues to this day.

As a legislator and as secretary of state, I’ve seen how members of Georgia’s black population build strong communities. They create vibrant businesses, are committed to their faith, and have and still do overcome significant adversity to build a better America. They understand the value of their citizenship, having given so much to obtain it.

It was also no surprise that 63 percent of Hispanic respondents support citizens-only voting in the United States. Georgia’s Hispanic community is vibrant and growing. The Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is a crucial part of the Peach State’s business community. American Latinos too have a long history of surmounting obstacles in this country and have achieved remarkable success.

Unlike woke Democrats in big liberal cities, America’s Hispanic community knows U.S. citizenship is a valuable commodity and understands the risks in cheapening it with noncitizen voting.

When I called for a citizens-only voting amendment to Georgia’s constitution, liberals in the state were outraged. Opponents claimed they weren’t against noncitizen voting but still were opposed to the amendment because noncitizen voting was already Georgia law. If that was really the case and liberal opponents had no plans to allow noncitizen voting in the future, then there would be no reason to oppose a citizens-only voting amendment.

There is ample evidence that extending noncitizen — and maybe even illegal-immigrant — voting is very much part of the liberal agenda. New York City recently voted to add 800,000 noncitizens to its voter rolls in future elections. Towns in Maryland, Vermont, and California have already opened their ballot boxes to noncitizens. Clarkston, Ga., less than a half-hour drive from the Georgia state capitol, is considering it as well. While noncitizen voting is against the law in Georgia, Stacey Abrams told voters in 2018 that the Democratic Party’s “Blue Wave” is “comprised of those who are documented and undocumented.”

The time to act is now. In city after city, woke liberals are adding noncitizens to the voter rolls over the opposition of their own voters. On the federal level, the Biden administration and its allies are looking to make it impossible to ensure noncitizens are prevented from getting on the voter rolls. Americans of all stripes and of both major political parties understand the importance of keeping voting to American citizens. A citizens-only amendment on the federal level, and in the states as well, is the best path forward to keep our elections secure.