WASHINGTON: Eight US states are asking to ban non-citizens from voting even though it is already illegal, and critics say it is part of a plan by Donald Trump and his Republican allies to challenge the presidential election result if he loses again on Nov 5.

The states include two that are expected to help decide the election. The measures, on the Nov 5 ballot, seek to amend state constitutions. Trump, the Republican Party candidate, says non-citizen votes could skew the election outcome.

Support from a majority of voters would mainly tweak state constitutions to say explicitly that only citizens can vote, a change critics say will have little practical effect, given that it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in those states.

The proposals will be on the ballot in November in the swing states of North Carolina and Wisconsin as well as the solidly Republican states of Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

Democrats allege measures reflect Trump’s attempts to cast doubt on reliability of elections

Supporters say the measures address voter concerns spawned by record levels of illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border during Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration and the discovery of small numbers of potential non-citizens on voter rolls in some states.

Independent political analysts and democracy advocates note it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in US federal elections and say that any flagging faith in the system is the result of former President Trump’s false claims that his 2020 election loss to Biden was the result of fraud.

The proposed amendments are the latest salvo in a campaign that has included at least eight Republican lawsuits challenging voter registration processes and an attempt by the House of Repre­sentatives Republican majority to pass a law requiring Americans to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote.

“Individuals across the state are concerned with the electoral process, and they want to make sure that the votes counted are legal votes,” said Jason Simmons, chair of the North Carolina Republican Party. Democrats and even some Republicans say the measures reflect Trump’s ongoing attempts to cast doubt on the reliability of US elections.

“You’ve had the loser of the last presidential election arguing that the election was fraudulent for the last four years, and 70 per cent of Republicans believe it,” said Republican pollster Whit Ayres, who has worked for a range of party leaders including US Senators Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham, as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Few localities allow non-citizens to vote Seventeen US localities currently allow legal non-citizens to vote in local — but not federal — elections, including the Democratic strongholds of San Francisco and Washington, DC.

The city of Santa Ana, California, which has a Democratic mayor, has a ballot measure this year asking voters whether non-citizen residents should be allowed to vote in municipal elections. Independent studies have shown that illegal non-citizen voting rarely happens, a finding that has been echoed by Republican state officials who oversee elections in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2024