West Virginia approves citizenship voting ballot measure

A ballot measure that would specify that only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote in elections in West Virginia is projected to pass, according to Decision Desk HQ.

The constitutional amendment, known as Amendment 1, makes a change to the language of the West Virginia Constitution. It currently reads, “the citizens of the State shall be entitled to vote at all elections held within the counties in which they respectively reside,” but it will shift to “only citizens of the United States who are citizens of this state shall be entitled to vote at all elections held within the counties in which they respectively reside.”

The ballot measure is projected to pass with nearly 80 percent support, with almost all of the vote reported as of early Wednesday.

West Virginia law already requires voters to be U.S. citizens to vote in the state, but this ballot measure would add the requirement to the state constitution.

Noncitizens are not allowed to vote in federal elections, and only a small group of municipalities in addition to Washington, D.C., allow noncitizens to vote in certain elections, according to Ballotpedia .

Republicans have leaned into issues around voting and proper identification, particularly as President Trump has asserted without basis that there has been widespread voter fraud in the U.S.

The president has pressed GOP lawmakers to pass legislation that would require people to show proof of citizenship in order to register to vote and show photo identification at the polls, though those efforts have been unsuccessful.

Ballotpedia notes that more than a dozen states are teeing up ballot measures Tuesday pertaining to election policy, including six states that are asking voters about voting and citizenship and six states asking about voter ID.