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As had been widely expected, North Carolinians approved an amendment to the state constitution that requires all eligible voters to be U.S. citizens.
The Associated Press projected that the amendment will pass not long after polls closed in North Carolina. As of 9:00 pm, “yes” votes had 76.9% of the vote to 23.1% for “noes” with approximately 30% of precincts reporting, according to preliminary results from the State Board of Elections.
The amendment was the product of House Bill 1074, a bill passed by the General Assembly in June to change the definition of eligible voters from “every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized” who is 18 to “only U.S. citizens” meeting age and eligibility requirements.
Proponents said the change was needed to prevent future reinterpretations of the current constitution that could open the door to state and local voting by noncitizens. Opponents said the old language was unequivocal, and that the amendment will only serve to raise anti-immigrant fervor and deter legal voters from participating in elections.
North Carolina was one of eight states voting on whether to enshrine explicit language forbidding noncitizens from voting in 2024 — alongside neighboring South Carolina, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin — though all eight state constitutions are already understood to forbid it. [If passes – The General Assembly will now need to pass implementing legislation that will determine what, if anything, changes about the actual voter registration process.]
Election night results are unofficial and vote totals will likely change over the coming days as local boards of election consider provisional, military, and overseas civilian ballots. The state Board of Elections is scheduled to meet Nov. 26 to certify the results.