RALEIGH — A bill that would allow voters to decide on blocking noncitizens from voting in North Carolina elections was filed in the North Carolina House of Representatives on May 24.
House Bill 1073 proposes adding an amendment to the North Carolina Constitution on the upcoming November 2024 ballot that “only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age and otherwise possessing the qualifications for voting shall be entitled to vote at 20 any election in this State.”
Primary sponsors of the bill are House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) along with Rep. Destin Hall (R-Caldwell), Majority Leader Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne) and House Majority Whip Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-Macon).
“In North Carolina, we value the integrity of our elections and have put safeguards in place to ensure our elections are secure,” Moore said in a press release. “Recent efforts to allow non-citizens to vote would undermine the public’s confidence in our electoral system and leave the door open for chaos and election fraud to take hold.
“Preventing non-citizens from voting in our elections also helps maintain national sovereignty, as it prevents foreign influence from affecting the outcomes of American elections, and this amendment to our constitution would further strengthen election integrity in North Carolina.”
In the press release, Bell mentioned polling showing 87% of likely voters in the state would approve of such an amendment.
“Tightening our elections laws so that only U.S. citizens are voting in this country ensures that those making decisions about our country’s future have a vested interest in its well-being,” said Hall. “Voting is a fundamental right and privilege reserved for citizens of the United States, and I am proud to support this effort to ensure the integrity of our elections.”
An identical bill, House Bill 1073, was filed on the same day and has advanced to the Committee on Election Law and Campaign Finance reform.
The pair of bills follows the U.S. House’s May 23 passage of H.R. 192, a measure aimed at stopping noncitizens from voting in Washington, D.C., elections.
H.R. 192 was proposed by Congressman August Pfluger (R-Texas).
“Free and fair elections are a prerequisite for a healthy republic,” Pfluger said in a press release following the vote on the measure. “The radical DC Council decision to allow noncitizens — including illegal aliens and foreign agents — to vote in elections dilutes the voting power of the citizen voter. My legislation restores the sanctity of the voting process and ensures that only American citizens are voting in our Nation’s capital.”
Fifty-two Democrats joined in voting with 210 Republicans to approve H.R. 192, while 143 Democrats voted no.
Among the Democrats voting no were three from North Carolina: Reps. Alma Adams, Valerie Foushee and Deborah Ross.
Two North Carolina congressmen did not vote: Rep. Jeff Jackson, who is running against Rep. Dan Bishop to become North Carolina’s attorney general, and Rep. Greg Murphy.
Murphy’s no-vote was on the same day he announced he would be stepping away to have surgery for a tumor doctors had located at the base of his skull.
