Vote “Against” the Constitutional Amendment

HB 1074 AMENDMENT BACKGROUND

Recently, there has been a reemergence of a long-debunked myth about non-citizens participating in federal and state elections. This is based on the “great replacement theory”, a harmful lie rooted in white nationalism and anti-Semitism.

In North Carolina, efforts to further this bigoted conspiracy theory surfaced at the state legislature with extremist lawmakers passing a ballot initiative that rewrites our state’s constitution.

Voters will now see this constitutional amendment on their ballots for the 2024 general election.

House Bill 1074 proposes to amend the North Carolina Constitution to modify the qualifications to vote to only a “citizen” by removing “every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized…”.

 

The existing NC Constitution language reads as follows: 

 Every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized, 18 years of age, and possessing the qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people of the State, except as herein otherwise provided.

 

The 2024 ballot measure will read as follows:

“[  ] FOR [  ] AGAINST
Constitutional amendment to provide that only citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age and otherwise possessing the qualifications for voting shall be entitled to vote any election in this state. 

 

The “citizens only voting” constitutional amendment ignores state and federal laws that already require U.S. citizenship to vote and robust election safeguards that ensure only qualified U.S. citizens cast ballots in our elections.

HB 1074 sows division across communities, promotes creates mistrust in our elections, and perpetuates anti-immigration hate and racism. 

On June 28, this bill became law and now will be on the 2024 General Election ballot for voters to decide if the proposed amendment should take effect.

Democracy NC, alongside statewide advocates, are urging voters to vote “AGAINST” and learn more about how harmful this bill is for our most vulnerable communities.

WHY THIS AMENDMENT IS HARMFUL

North Carolina Elections are Secure. In North Carolina, we understand the importance of safe and accessible  elections. The State Board of Elections has ensured this in our state through verification checks, post-election audits, and having bipartisan, trained officials and an Investigations Division, to ensure a transparent voting process we can respect.

Creates Confusion and Chills Naturalized Citizens’ Voting Rights. Removing the term “naturalization” from the constitutional voting qualifications opens the door to confusion and may prevent naturalized citizens from exercising their fundamental right to vote, including political self-determination, that is guaranteed to all U.S. citizens.

• More than a third of all immigrants in North Carolina are naturalized U.S. citizens. Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is granted to a lawful permanent resident after meeting the requirements of the Immigration Nationality Act.

Immigrants and Naturalized Citizens are Vital to North Carolina’s Economy. As labor market shortages continue to impact various industries, immigrants have contributed meaningfully to the state’s workforce and economy.

• Immigrants’ collective spending power amounts to $22 billion, while their tax contributions surpass $7 billion dollars.
• In 2018, 61,838 immigrant business owners accounted for 12% of all self-employed North Carolina residents and generated $1.1 billion in business income.