Immigration At The Polls in Oklahoma

In anticipation of the start of early voting, I’ve begun working through my sample ballot. In so doing, I found Oklahoma’s State Question 834– a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The official ballot question is this:

This measure amends Section 1 of Article 3 of the Oklahoma Constitution. It clarifies that only citizens of the United States are qualified to vote in this state.

SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?

At the moment, the relevant portion of the Oklahoma Constitution reads:

SECTION III-1. Qualifications of electors.

Subject to such exceptions as the Legislature may prescribe, all citizens of the United States, over the age of eighteen (18) years, who are bona fide residents of this state, are qualified electors of this state.

State Question 834 would change the word “all” in Section III-1 to “only.”

The group Oklahoma Watch offered a bit more information, indicating the proposed amendment passed on a “party-line” vote in May. The goal of the amendment backers is “to protect Oklahoma against court rulings or other official actions that could open the door for noncitizens to vote in non-federal elections” the way New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. have allowed.

The OK Watch report clarifies that the idea for the amendment was hardly homegrown. Rather, a national advocacy organization–Americans for Citizen Voting–has been trying to get this issue on ballots nationwide.

-KitJ