The author of the editorial, Constitutional change not needed to keep non-citizens from voting, goes to great lengths to highlight circumstances and cases around the nation to support their claim that non-citizens can’t vote. However, the author ignores the caveats and loopholes that undermine their position.

First, Georgia law prevents non-citizens from voting. The Georgia Constitution does not! Most people know that the Constitution trumps any law, any day of the week. The Georgia Constitution says every citizen can vote, which acts as a floor, not a ceiling, to determine voter eligibility. Any state judge who wants to interpret the Constitution literally and thus believes that it does not bar non-citizens from voting could potentially enforce that ideal as rule of law in our state. The writer proves this in the examples they highlight in other states. Courts can literally overturn the will of local/state authorities based on “their interpretation” of state Constitutions.

Second, it is true that federal law prohibits non-citizens from voting. This creates a problem, not a solution. State legislatures still have the right to determine the voting rules for their state. If a state allows non-citizens to vote, this does not countermand federal law. It just adds confusion and opens non-citizens up to federal prosecution and denial of citizenship for simply doing what was permissible in their local jurisdiction. Confusion can be avoided by making it clear across the board that non-citizens do not have voting rights.

Further, the claim that the Georgia Legislature will revoke any city or town law that allows non-citizens to vote assumes the status quo. At any time in our future, the legislature could shift to a position that supports non-citizen voting or simply becomes agnostic to local voting decisions. A Constitutional amendment, especially at a time when our state is most favorable to this concept, is the best and most permanent way to ensure non-citizens are not allowed to vote in Georgia elections.

The writer seems confident that non-citizens will never be allowed to vote in Georgia elections. However, from where I stand, the existence of even one loophole that can be exploited to one day allow foreign citizens to LEGALLY gain enfranchisement is quite sobering. The best defense is to pass a simple amendment that changes ONE word in our Constitution. Replacing the word ‘Every’ with the word ‘Only’ would make it abundantly clear to any authority exactly who is allowed to vote in Georgia elections. It’s an easy ‘yes’ vote in the legislature which would lead to an easy ‘yes’ vote by the people.

For all the pushback, lobbying, and ‘nay’ votes that have been endured around this issue, one must wonder where we have left our common sense.

A simple one-word Constitutional change can act as a firewall for any future efforts to give voting rights to foreign citizens. To say that this amendment is unnecessary completely ignores the existence of insurance policies and fire extinguishers. You are always glad you have them when you need them! I get so tired of hearing that this is a solution searching for a problem. When the solution is as simple as this one, we should be looking for all the problems we can find to make our elections secure.

Michael Lancaster

Georgia State Director

Americans for Citizen Voting