W.Va. voters support adding non-citizen voting prohibition to state constitution
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CHARLESTON – Voting by non-citizens is already illegal in West Virginia and federal elections, but voters in the Mountain State appeared to agree with cementing that prohibition within the state’s constitution.
Amendment 1, putting in place a U.S. citizenship requirement to vote in West Virginia elections, was on track Tuesday evening for approval by voters.
According to unofficial election results reported by county clerks and compiled by WV MetroNews, more than 270,000 votes had been cast for Amendment 1, putting in place a U.S. citizenship requirement to vote in West Virginia elections. As of press time, 78% of voters supported the amendment and 22% voters opposed the amendment.
Amendment 1 states that only U.S. citizens and West Virginia residents are qualified to vote in state elections. The constitutional amendment maintains existing restrictions for individuals who are minors, declared mentally incompetent, or convicted of certain crimes like treason, felony, or electoral bribery. It also clarifies residency rules by excluding military personnel stationed in the state from automatically gaining voting residency solely through their deployment.
The West Virginia Legislature placed Amendment 1 on the general election ballot after more than the required two-thirds majority of the House of Delegates and state Senate adopted Senate Joint Resolution 9 during the 2027 regular session earlier this year. The joint resolution passed the Senate and House unanimously.
“This amendment strengthens election integrity and protects the voice and votes of our lawful citizens,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Tom Willis, R-Berkeley, when explaining SJR 9 on the Senate floor on third reading March 3.
SJR 9 was introduced by Senate Government Organization Committee Chairwoman Patrica Rucker, R-Jefferson, who became a U.S. citizen after coming from Venezuela in 1981 with her father.
“I’m very proud that West Virginia voters chose to protect the integrity of our elections tonight with their support of Amendment 1,” Rucker said by phone Tuesday night. “The right to vote, especially as a naturalized U.S. citizen of which I am, is something I just hold very close to my heart, and I think is something that is very important ... We are protecting our elections from any future legislature or city deciding that anyone can register to vote that is not a U.S. citizen, and I just think it’s a very good thing to do.”
In West Virginia, voting by non-citizens and non-residents is already prohibited under State Code. In order to be qualified to register to vote, a person must be a U.S. citizen and a legal resident of West Virginia and of specific a county. According to State Code, any non-eligible person found to be voting in state elections knowing they are prohibited from doing so could be found guilty of a felony, jailed for between one and 10 years, and/or be fined up to $10,000.
“The prohibition on someone who is not a citizen in the United States from voting, that’s already included in the West Virginia Code in at least two different places,” said state Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, during a Senate Judiciary Committee discussion on SJR 9 on Feb. 24.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, all states had banned non-citizen voting in federal elections as of 1924, more than 100 years ago. Congress added criminal penalties for non-citizen voting in federal elections in 1996. While non-citizen voting has happened in the past, it is considered rare. Even the conservative Heritage Foundation database of election fraud cases found only 23 instances of non-citizen voting over a 19-year period between 2003 and 2022.
Despite this, the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump have raised concerns about non-citizen voting, including pressuring secretaries of state to turn over unredacted voter registration files to compile a database to find non-citizens on voter rolls. Federal judges have rejected these efforts, including an attempt to obtain West Virginia’s unredacted voter registration files.
According to The Washington Sun, the Department of Justice has sent election monitors to all 50 states. The West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office confirmed Tuesday that a DOJ election monitor was in Charleston but would not enter polling precincts and would remain outside the 100-foot zone from the entrance of precincts.