The Sconi

Wisconsin Voter Alliance (WVA) President Ron Heuer says the voter group is 100% behind a proposed constitutional amendment approved recently by the state Senate that declares only U.S. citizens have the right to vote.

“It is just common sense,” Heuer told The Sconi in an email. “I cannot think of one reason why a noncitizen should vote. Period. If a noncitizen wants to vote, the answer is simple, become a citizen.”

Wisconsin Voter Alliance is based in Kewaunee. 

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate passed the proposed amendment last week along party lines, 21-12.

Before the measure becomes law, it must pass the state Assembly, both houses again next year, and then be approved by the voters. The governor has no veto power over the legislation.

The proposed amendment has the support of Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke (R-Kaukaunna), who presides over a 61-38 Republican majority. In May 2021, he and Sen. Roger Roth (R-Appleton) circulated a resolution they said “provides clarity that a qualified elector is only a U.S. citizen for the purpose of all elections and ballot measures in Wisconsin.”

“Recently, some states and municipalities throughout the country have made movements to dilute the rights of U.S. citizens by extending the scope of qualified electors to non-citizens, despite having constitutional language similar to that of our state,” the lawmakers said.

New York City became the most recent municipality allowing noncitizens to vote. In January, Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, allowed a veto period to end on the measure approved by City Council in December.

The law, which gives 800,000 noncitizens in the city the right to vote in municipal elections, faces two lawsuits, one from a group of New York state Republicans, including the New York Republican State Committee, and election watchdog group the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF).

The PILF lawsuit, citing that the majority of nonresidents are Asian and Hispanic, alleges the law violates the 15th Amendment, which guarantees African Americans the right to vote.

“Sponsors of the foreigner voting bill were explicit that race motivated their legislation and not merely giving noncitizens the right to vote,” PILF President J. Christian Adams said in a statement when the lawsuit was filed earlier this month. “When election laws are passed with a racial motive, they violate the 15th Amendment and are invalid. The 15th Amendment prohibits any race-based voting restrictions. Legislators made statements that this was about race. This law violates the Constitution. We are confident the court will rule in our favor.”