AUSTIN – A new poll shows that Texans overwhelmingly believe that only U.S. citizens should be able to vote in Texas elections.
On Thursday, the Texas House will hold a public hearing on HJR 161, a resolution seeking to amend the Texas Constitution to clarify that voters residing in the Lone Star State must be U.S. citizens
A companion bill, SJR 37, has already passed the Senate. If the resolution clears both chambers, the issue would go before voters.
A survey conducted by the Remington Research Group shows that voters would likely support the amendment.
When those surveyed were asked whether they would support the Texas Citizen-Only Voting Amendment, 68 percent said they would strongly support the measure while 11 percent said they would somewhat support it.
The poll also found that 88 percent of Texans believe only U.S. citizens should be able to vote in Texas elections.
Charlie Kolean, the Texas state director for Americans for Citizen Voting, says the polling is clear that citizen-only voting has strong bipartisan support.
“It’s encouraging to see that, even in a divided political climate, Americans can still come together on issues,” Kolean said. “Ensuring that only U.S. citizens are voting in Texas isn't a partisan debate. We urge lawmakers to reflect the will of their constituents by voting yes on HJR 161 and SJR 37. This is a meaningful step in the right direction.”
Nearly two dozen cities across the country have allowed some form of non-citizen voting – a figure that makes 58 percent of voters more likely to support the amendment, according to the survey.
In the last four years, 14 states have voted to approve constitutional amendments to prohibit noncitizens from voting in state and local elections.
The poll, conducted from April 21 through April 22, surveyed 706 likely voters.
The 88 percent support in this poll is even higher than a 2023 ACV survey showed that showed 82 percent of Texans favored a policy of only citizens voting.
During the last legislative session, ACV sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott asserting that the amendment was needed because Article VI, Sections 1-2 of the Texas Constitution do not clearly prohibit non-citizens from voting.
If all Republican House members vote for the measure, eight Democrats also would need to support the bill for passage.
If the measure clears the House, the issue would then be in the hands of the voters.
The proposal would amend the state Constitution to add that persons who are not citizens of the United States shall not be allowed to vote in the state. It would be the fourth classification of people not allowed to vote. The other three are persons under 18 years of age, persons who have been determined mentally incompetent by a court and persons convicted of any felony.
If passed, the amendment would be placed before voters for the November 4, 2025, election. The ballot would be printed to permit voting for against the proposition that would say, “The constitutional amendment clarifying that a voter must be a United States citizen.”
In January, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick included a similar bill on his list of top 40 priority bills for the 89th legislative session. The difference between Birdwell’s Senate resolution and Patrick’s Senate Bill 16 is that the resolution would amend the state Constitution rather than just codify the mandate into law. Another legislative session down the road could pass another bill to change state code again. Changing the state Constitution gives the measure a few more levels of protection from that.
While non-Americans can’t vote in state or federal elections in Texas, the idea that non-citizens could vote in local and municipal elections is what Kolean’s group hopes to prevent.
In recent years, Americans for Citizen Voting has worked to have similar measures adopted in states. Last November, eight states (Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin) passed laws to keep non-citizens from voting. Neighboring Louisiana and Oklahoma already have passed such laws.
Currently, 20 state have laws to make sure only American citizens can vote in that state, and several other states – including Texas and neighboring Arkansas – are actively considering such legislation.