CHARLESTON – West Virginia has joined the growing number of states that require U.S. citizenship to vote in its elections.
With all of the vote counted Tuesday, Amendment 1 finished with a 79-21 edge among voters. The state constitutional amendment only needed a simple majority to pass.
Tomczak
“We are thrilled that West Virginia voters have join the other citizen-only voting states,” Jack Tomczak, vice president of outreach for Americans for Citizen Voting. “Despite all of the other issues and all of the many candidates, one thing is clear: Regardless of party, gender and race, Americans want only U.S. citizens to be allowed to legally vote in American elections.”
/
ACV is a national advocacy group that supports citizen-only voting initiatives across the country.
The amendment was put on the ballot during when Senate Joint Resolution passed on the final day of this year’s legislative session. It became Amendment 1 and was called the Citizenship Requirement to Vote in West Virginia Elections Amendment.
“This amendment provides that in all elections held in West Virginia only citizens of the United States who are citizens of this state are qualified to vote,” the ballot read.
Now that it’s passed, the amendment will modify Section 1, Article IV of the state Constitution to prohibit persons not United States citizens from voting in any election held within the state.
Rucker
On September 15, state Senator Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson) conducted a press conference at the state Capitol to explain the importance of the amendment.
“West Virginia already has in code that only citizens can vote in elections, but that is not enough,” Rucker said then. “That’s law, and law can change, as we know. But the language in our Constitution is not clear.”
West Virginia Code §3-2-2 requires U.S. citizenship for voting. However, the state Constitution (art. 4, sec. 1) only expressly requires voters to be “citizens of the state” and not specifically U.S. citizens. “Citizen” is defined by state Constitution art. 2, sec. 3, which includes but is not limited to a person who is “residing in this state.”
Thus, a non-U.S. citizen who resides in West Virginia is currently a state “citizen” under the West Virginia Constitution. There is no requirement to be a U.S. citizen in the West Virginia Constitution to be a state citizen.
The proposed amendment does not change state citizenship requirements, but it does expressly require U.S. citizenship as a prerequisite for voter registration, aligning the state Constitution with current state election law.
“This proposed amendment will ensure that no future Legislature can just simply change things,” Rucker, who is the assistant majority leader, said. “It also gives us greater authority to enforce the law we currently have in place.”
Rucker, who is a naturalized citizen originally from Venezuela, said citizenship and the right to vote are important issues to her.
“Every year, we welcome new naturalized citizens in our state,” she said. “Individuals like myself, who went through the proper and legal process to become a United States citizen. Just like I did, those new citizens were in both of allegiance to our country and the Constitution.
“It has never been more important to me that we ensure that that oath and that allegiance matters, and it’s necessary in order to be able to vote and determine who is going to be guiding our state in the future.”
Tomczak spoke at the September press conference as well.
“Since 2018, 15 states have amended their state constitution to make it to only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote in the United States and federal elections,” he said. “And in every state, it has passed with overwhelming support, and we anticipate that again here in West Virginia.”
In recent years, several states have passed constitutional amendments to ensure non-citizens don’t vote in state elections. Texas voters approved a similar measure last year. And in 2024, eight states (Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin) passed laws to keep non-citizens from voting.
Including West Virginia, 25 states now have laws ensuring only American citizens can vote in those states after similar amendments passed in Arkansas, Kansas and South Dakota. Alaska also had a related statute on its ballot.
“By the end of the night 26 states will have citizen-only voting in their constitutions,” Tomczak said Tuesday night.
