DALLAS – Regardless of ideology, party, gender, or race, Texans overwhelmingly support citizen only voting, according to a recent poll.
Americans for Citizen Voting, a group seeking to protect the right to vote for American citizens, released polling results on Aug. 31 showing that 82 percent of Texans support citizen only voting.
“It is not surprising that Texans support citizens only voting by such a large margin,” said Avi McCullah, an ACV board member. Guaranteeing that only citizens of the United States are voting is just common sense.
“The poll also shows 81 percent support among naturalized citizens. As a naturalized citizen myself, I’m not surprised that people who have gone through the work to become citizens want their right to vote protected.”
During the past legislative session, Senate Joint Resolution 35 passed the Texas Senate 29-1, but was blocked in the House when 54 Democrats voted "present."
Supporters hope Gov. Greg Abbott will add the amendment to a special session call this year.
Currently, more than a dozen states and municipalities allow non-citizen voting in local elections. Last October, the D.C. Council voted to allow non-citizen residents the right to vote in local elections.
On Feb. 9, the House passed HJR 24, disapproving the action of the D.C. Council in approving the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022. A total of 260 representatives voted in favor of the resolution, including 42 Democrats, several of which call Texas home.