AUSTIN – A bill that would amend the state constitution to ensure that only American citizens can vote in Texas elections finally has passed the state House of Representatives.
The House voted May 12 on Senate Joint Resolution 37. The vote for the third reading was 102-14 in favor with 22 present and not voting. HJR 161 has an accompanying House measure in SJR 37.
The resolution garnered 98 voters in favor of passage May 9 on second reading, but the proposed constitutional amendment needed 100 votes.
Kolean
| File photo
Upon passage, the measure goes straight to the voters. The amendment will be placed on ballots for the November 4, 2025, election. The ballot will 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.”
Charlie Kolean is the Texas state director for Americans for Citizen Voting, which has been pushing for passage of such resolutions in Texas and other states.
“We commend the Texas Legislature for taking bold, commonsense action by passing SJR 37,” Kolean said. “Texans overwhelmingly support the idea that only U.S. citizens should vote in our elections. Enshrining that principle in the state constitution is essential to protecting the integrity of our democratic process.
“We look forward to Texans making their voices heard this November.”
Kolean said several Democrats voted for the resolution.
“We would like to thank both the Republicans and Democrats who voted for this,” he said. “According to a recent poll over 89 percent of Texans agree that only U.S. Citizens should be voting in all of Texas elections.”
The resolution was written by Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) and is sponsored by Rep. Candy Noble (R-Lucas), Cortez (D-San Antonio) and Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Plano).
During a recent public hearing on HJR 161, Noble said Texas laws, elections and bond proposals should be decided by citizens and that protecting the sanctity of elections is a fundamental responsibility that voter confidence depends on.
Several cities and counties across the nation already allow non-citizens to cast votes in elections.
In 2023, the Texas Legislature failed to pass a measure to ensure any of its municipalities could not join the growing list. Since then, 11 states have passed similar amendments.
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 approved by voters, the proposal would amend the state Constitution to add that persons who are not citizens of the U.S. 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.
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 states 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.