COLUMBIA, SC (WRDW/WAGT) – Just days away and South Carolinians are already breaking early voting records.

In addition to the race for the White House, there’s one question everyone will be asking at the polls this year, a statewide constitutional referendum.

The question is a simple yes or no: Whether a portion of the state constitution regarding voter qualifications would be changed by one word to say that “only” a citizen of the United States and of this state 18 years of age and older is he properly registered, does he have the right to vote, according to the legal provisions?

Currently, the constitution says that “every” citizen of the United States and of this state 18 years of age and older who is properly registered has the right to vote as provided by law.

A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division review earlier this year found no evidence that non-citizens voted in the state, which is illegal in South Carolina.

But Republican Sen. Josh Kimbrell, the lead sponsor of the resolution to put that question to voters, said he wants to remove any ambiguity that could open the door for non-citizens to be allowed to vote in South Carolina.

“We’ve had multiple court challenges across the state in multiple jurisdictions, as I just stated, where some courts have held that municipal governments or school boards can extend the right to vote to those who are not in this country legally,” he Kimbrell said. .

Kimbrell urged voters to support the measure during a news conference Wednesday in his home county of Spartanburg, joined by the head of the Americans for Citizens Vote group, which has supported the referendum in several other states.

According to the group, six states have already approved the language change in their constitutions, while eight others, including both Carolinas, have it on the ballot this year.

“Let’s make it clear in our constitutions that only citizens are eligible to vote,” said Paul Jacob, president of Americans for Citizen.

As with any proposed amendment to the state constitution, the legislature had to pass a resolution to submit to the voters.

Some Democratic lawmakers have argued that this referendum is unnecessary and a solution in search of a problem.

But in the end, all but three senators voted for the resolution, and the House of Representatives passed unanimously to put it on the ballot in November.

“At a time when it’s already built into our state constitution that a voter is, by definition, a citizen, we don’t need it to prevent that, to prevent local municipal governments or county governments from allowing non-citizens to vote to their choices,” Lynn Teague. with the League of Women Voters of South Carolina said.

The League of Women Voters of South Carolina opposes this language change.

“Not because we want non-citizens to vote,” Teague said. “We are losing our inclusiveness to guarantee that every citizen has the right to vote, unless, of course, they are disqualified by law.”

If a majority of voters say yes to that question, it would still require final approval from the General Assembly for the constitution to be amended.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.