An amendment on the ballot on Nov. 5 aims to eliminate noncitizen voting in local Wisconsin elections. The amendment, proposed by Republicans, would change the wording from “every” U.S. citizen is an eligible voter in Wisconsin, to “only” U.S. citizens are eligible to vote.
This subtle change in wording could have a major impact on voting accessibility if passed. Some voting rights activists worry that this could be the first step on the path to making people prove their citizenship before voting. This could mean showing a birth certificate or passport to be able to vote, which could make voting difficult for many.
There is currently no noncitizen voting in Wisconsin, but this proposed amendment would take away the power of communities to choose to have noncitizen voting in their local elections. Noncitizen residents are not eligible to vote in national or statewide elections.
“There are a handful of states in which a handful of local communities allow noncitizens to take part in things like school board elections,” said Kathleen Dolan, a professor of political science at UWM. “That’s something that local communities have the right to do. This conditional amendment would take away or limit that power.”
This is just one of many similar types of referendums that are being proposed across the nation. There has been an uptick in laws aimed at making voting more difficult since the 2020 election, according to Dolan. Some have also suggested that adding this amendment to the presidential ballot was a way to mobilize Republican voters.
“There are some people who assume that the legislature did this in a way that puts it on the presidential ballot as a way of driving up the turnout among Republican voters,” said Dolan. “You can feel pretty confident that Republican voters have heard about this and understand that this is on the ballot and might be excited to vote in favor of it. The average person on the street who might not pay attention to politics all the time might not know.”
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