Letter to the Editor

To the Editor,

The statewide ballot in North Carolina includes a completely unnecessary constitutional amendment that seeks to clarify that only citizens can vote. Currently, the North Carolina Constitution says that every person born in the U.S. and every person who had been naturalized and who is 18 years of age is eligible to vote. The proposed amendment removes the language about naturalized citizens. Removing this language builds on unfounded fears that non-citizens are committing widespread voter fraud and threatening our elections. Existing N.C. law already makes it illegal for non-citizens to vote, and whether or not a majority of voters approve the amendment in November won’t change that.

The proposed amendment leads voters into wrongfully believing that non-citizens are voting in large numbers. The data paints a different picture. Incidents of non-citizens voting in N.C. are rare. In 2016, 16 non-citizens pled guilty to voting and there was only one allegation made by the N.C. State Board of Elections for each of the years 2018, 2020, and 2021. Therefore, the proposed N.C. constitutional amendment prohibiting non-citizens from voting points to a problem that does not exist.

There are safeguards in place, including the new voter ID law and requiring people who register to vote to provide their date of birth and driver’s license number or last four digits of their Social Security number. These numbers are then validated against data from the DMV and/or Social Security Administration and the attestation to citizenship question at the top of the voter registration form is required.

The N.C. constitutional amendment is a blatant attempt to erode voter confidence ahead of the November elections, based on lies about who is voting. Please vote against the amendment.

Martha Roblee,

Laurinburg