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Wisconsin eligibility; referendum on citizenship and voting

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Published  October 16, 2024 5:11pm CDT
You Decide
FOX6 News Milwaukee

Referendum on future of noncitizen voting

A referendum asks Wisconsin voters to potentially decide on whether to prevent the state from allowing noncitizens to vote in future elections.

The Brief

    • A referendum will ask voters to replace one word in the Wisconsin Constitution
    • Right now the state constitution says "Every United States citizen age 18 or older" can vote. If you approve the amendment, "every" would be changed to "only a."
    • Those opposed worry it could lead to having to prove citizenship to vote; supporters say there are cases of noncitizens attempting to vote.

MILWAUKEE - It's a single word in the Wisconsin Constitution: "every". Soon, you'll decide whether to replace it.

Right now the state constitution says "Every United States citizen age 18 or older" can vote. If you approve the amendment, "every" would be changed to "only a."

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Here's what you will see at the end of your ballot, a statewide referendum:

"Shall section 1 of article III of the constitution, which deals with suffrage, be amended to provide that only a United States citizen age 18 or older who resides in an election district may vote in an election for national, state, or local office or at a statewide or local referendum?"

Those opposed worry it could lead to having to prove citizenship to vote.

"It’s definitely a downgrade because it’s going to make it harder for people who are eligible to prove that they are citizens," said Iuscely Flores with the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. "You may have to bring a passport, you may have to bring a social security card, you may have to bring your birth certificate."

As it stands now, in order to even register to vote in Wisconsin, you have to check and certify this box: "Are you a citizen of the United States"? If you lie, you could face years in prison. Both federal and state law make it illegal for noncitizens to vote in national and state races.

But, in a few other areas of the country, some municipalities have allowed noncitizens to vote in local races, like for city hall or school board. No Wisconsin local government allows that.

"To those who don't believe this is an issue, I would point to the Maryland state Constitution, which uses similar language to describe who can vote: ‘Every citizen of the United States.’ That language did not stop College Park and 10 other municipalities from allowing illegal immigrants to vote in local elections," State Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin) said in a legislative hearing in 2023.

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Mequon City Clerk Caroline Fochs said she had three cases since 2021 where they caught noncitizens voting. She added she caught one noncitizen on Tuesday attempting to register.

Fochs said there’s no mandated double-checking of citizenship.

The legislature passed this change in 2022 and 2023. That's what it takes to go around the governor and straight to you. The final say in whether to change the Wisconsin Constitution is up to you in the statewide referendum. 

If this feels like déjà vu, that’s because this April, voters approved changing the constitution. And in August, voters rejected other changes.