All S.C. voters will see this yes-or-no question on their ballots in election
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Just a few days in, and South Carolinians are already breaking early voting records.
Besides the race for the White House, there is one other question that all of them will be asked at the polls this year, a statewide constitutional referendum.
The question is a straightforward yes or no: Should part of the state constitution concerning voter qualifications be changed by one word, to say that “only” a citizen of the United States and of this State of the age of 18 and upwards who is properly ed is entitled to vote, as provided by law?
Right now, the constitution says “every” citizen of the United States and of this State of the age of 18 and upwards who is properly ed is entitled to vote as provided by law.
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A review from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division earlier this year found no evidence of noncitizens voting in the state, which is illegal in South Carolina.
But Republican senator Josh Kimbrell, the lead sponsor of the resolution to put this question to voters, said they want to remove any ambiguity that could open the door for noncitizens to be allowed to cast a ballot in South Carolina.
“We’ve had multiple court challenges across the state in multiple jurisdictions, as I just stated, where some courts have upheld that municipal governments or school boards can extend the right to vote to those who are not legally in this country,” Kimbrell said.
Kimbrell urged voters to the measure during a news conference Wednesday in his home county, Spartanburg, ed by the head of the group “Americans for Citizen Voting,” which has pushed for this referendum in several other states.
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According to the group, six states have already approved this language change in their constitutions, while another eight, including both Carolinas, have it on their ballots this year.
“Let’s make it clear in our constitutions that only citizens are eligible voters,” Americans for Citizen Voting Chair Paul Jacob said.
As with any proposed change to the state constitution, the legislature needed to a resolution to put it before voters.
Some Democratic lawmakers argued this referendum was unnecessary and a solution in search of a problem.
But ultimately, all but three senators voted for the resolution, and it ed the House of Representatives unanimously to make its way onto ballots this November.
“With it already embedded in our state constitution that an elector is, by definition, a citizen, we don’t need it to prevent that, to prevent local municipal governments or county governments from allowing noncitizens to vote in their elections,” Lynn Teague with the League of Women Voters of South Carolina said.
The League of Women Voters of South Carolina opposes this change in language.
“It is not because we want noncitizens voting,” Teague said. “We lose our inclusion to guarantee that every citizen has a right to vote, unless, of course, they’re disqualified by law.”
If a majority of voters say “yes” to this question, it would still need one final approval from the General Assembly for the constitution to be amended.
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