AMERICANS FOR CITIZEN VOTING: CITIZEN ONLY VOTING AMENDMENTS MOVING THROUGH STATE LEGISLATURES

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Feb 06, 2025, 11:01 ET

"COVA" REQUIRES U.S. CITIZENSHIP IN STATE AND LOCAL ELECTIONS

WOODBRIDGE, Va., Feb. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The South Dakota State Senate and Kansas House of Representatives have passed the Citizen Only Voting Amendment this week. COVA changes state constitutions to require that voters in all government elections be citizens of the United States. COVA does not affect federal elections.

"We are thrilled by the quick action in Kansas and South Dakota," stated Americans for Citizen Voting President Avi McCulluh. "We are hopeful for passage in the other chambers in these states."

Foreign citizen voting exists in 21 municipalities in states which have not passed a Citizen Only Voting Amendment. City councils in California, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Vermont, and Washington, DC have chosen to let non-citizens vote.

"There is a myth out there that foreign citizens are not voting in the United States. That is not true," continued McCulluh. "The media and our opponents frequently get that wrong. Even though it's happening in our nation's capital."

Americans for Citizen Voting was instrumental in passing COVA in eight states on Election Day in 2024. Voters in Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin all passed COVA by wide margins.

"Every poll we've done, either nationwide or in a state, shows high support for Citizen Only Voting," continued McCulluh. "COVA has momentum. After last year's victories, legislators in almost a dozen states have sponsored Citizen Only Voting Amendments. If voters keep up the pressure, we anticipate COVA making it on the ballot in 2026."

Americans for Citizen Voting is a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to helping citizens pass Citizen Only Voting Amendments. In recent years, these 14 states have passed COVA: Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. COVA efforts are underway in Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Texas, and West Virginia.