Wisconsin
A proposal on November’s ballot to ban voting by noncitizens across Wisconsin would have little practical effect on who can vote under existing laws. But it would shut the door on an option that some advocates of wider voting access want to retain: letting municipalities open their local elections to noncitizens or younger voters.
Current laws already bar anyone who is not a U.S. citizen from voting in elections for federal or statewide Wisconsin offices. But supporters of the proposed constitutional amendment have pointed to municipalities in other states that let noncitizens vote in races for city council or school board, for instance. They say the amendment is key to making sure that such a thing doesn’t take hold in Wisconsin.
They also say heading off noncitizen voting at the local level would free local clerks from having to prepare separate ballots for those voters without the federal and state races, which could complicate election administration and lead to more errors.
The proposed amendment is part of a movement by Republicans nationwide to raise concerns about large-scale illegal voting by noncitizens in state and federal elections, even though experts say that’s not happening.