It may be an off-year election cycle, but the November ballot initiatives are heating up. One particular fight is fundamental to our democracy: citizen-only voting.
Most people assume that to vote in the United States, one must be a U.S. citizen. But this is not the case: Only 20 state constitutions include language explicitly confirming that only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote in elections. Every other state is vulnerable to cities allowing noncitizens to vote.
It is more common than people think. In Chicago, noncitizens can vote in local school council elections. In San Francisco, noncitizens can not only vote in school board elections, but also serve on City Council-appointed commissions. In Washington, D.C., which should be the exemplar of Western democracy, noncitizens are allowed to vote in municipal elections. In recent years, more than 11,000 illegal aliens were initially listed on Virginia’s voter rolls.
And it gets worse. According to one study, 10% to 27% of all illegal aliens currently in the U.S. are registered to vote — millions of people. Many voted in the 2024 election.
This is unacceptable. For the sake of national sovereignty, the right to vote — the most fundamental form of democratic participation — should be reserved for U.S. citizens. It is perhaps the most important right associated with citizenship in the first place, as the 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments to the U.S. Constitution make perfectly clear. Otherwise, to quote President Donald Trump, “you don’t have a country.”
Most Americans agree — because it is common sense. According to 2025 polling in my home state of Texas, 88% of people believe that only U.S. citizens should be able to vote in the state’s elections. In Michigan, that number is 87%. In Arkansas, the number is 84%. That’s why, since 2018, voters in 14 states have approved ballot measures that enshrine clear citizen-only voting provisions into their state constitutions. It is a 100% hit rate — 14 out of 14 ballot initiatives, with overwhelming support.
This November, we need to keep up the momentum. In Texas, Proposition 16 would ensure that non-citizens are excluded from voting in the state, reaffirming the rights of U.S. citizens. Texans must think beyond legislation when it comes to noncitizen voting, making citizen-only voting a constitutional guarantee. Adding the citizenship voting requirement to the Texas constitution would make altering this requirement much more difficult in the future. And that is a good thing, given today’s politics.
State by state, we are seeing common sense prevail. Last November alone, eight states passed laws to keep noncitizens from voting. But most states do not have constitutional safeguards against noncitizen voting. Therefore, they are vulnerable to electoral interference from noncitizens, illegal aliens, and potentially even foreign governments.
This has nothing to do with politics. It is not a partisan issue. Whether Americans vote Democrat or Republican, they have every right to do so, as long as they have citizenship.
Do we want Texans and New Yorkers and Californians deciding the future of America, or noncitizens? It is a simple question with a simple answer. Democrats and Republicans already agree: In a representative republic, public policy needs to stem from the constituents with the full rights and responsibilities that citizenship confers.
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In areas like California and Washington, D.C., loopholes have already opened up the door to noncitizens voting in local elections. In Texas, Prop 16 will close that door, and it must remain closed across America.
Our very democracy is at stake in the weeks ahead. If the door to noncitizen voting remains even slightly ajar in America, we don’t really live in “America” at all.
Charlie Kolean is the Texas State Director of Americans for Citizens Voting.
