By Aris Folley
South Carolina voters approved a GOP-backed proposal on Tuesday that seeks to block non-U.S. citizens from voting in elections in a move that critics have said is âcompletely unnecessary.â
The measure would amend the stateâs constitution to allow âonlyâ citizens to vote in elections, as former President Trump and other Republicans have spread unfounded claims that there is widespread noncitizen voter fraud.
State Sen. Chip Campsen (R-S.C.) said in remarks obtained by The Post and Courier that the effort is a âbelt and suspenders approachâ to prevent changes in the court later on.
âConstitutional provisions are for the long run. Unless youâre OK with noncitizens voting, thereâs no reason for you to oppose this,â Campsen said.
However, Democrats and advocates have come out against such pushes, noting noncitizens are already blocked from voting in federal elections â and are only allowed to participate in local elections in a few cities.
Although illegal voting and legal noncitizen voting are separate issues, the two are often conflated in public discourse.
But numbers crunched over the years also paint a different picture, with a study carried out by the Brennan Center for Justice noting âan estimated 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen votingâ out of millions of votes tallied across dozens of districts in 2016.
South Carolina is one of a more than handful with similar noncitizen voting bans on the ballot this year, as immigration has been a top-of-mind issue for many voters heading into the 2024 presidential election.