Noncitizens

Iowa Amends Constitution to Exclude Non-Citizens from Voting, Sparking Legal Battles and Civic Concerns

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Iowa voters have decisively passed a constitutional amendment ensuring that only U.S. citizens can participate in the state’s elections. This legislative action underscores a growing debate about voter eligibility amidst a heightened national discourse on immigration. This change follows a revelation by Iowa’s Secretary of State, Paul Pate, who reported identifying over 2,000 potential non-citizens in the voter registry just ahead of the elections. In late October, Pate disclosed findings from an audit conducted on state voter databases, targeting individuals who had registered with the Iowa Department of Transportation as non-citizens at any point over … Read more

Federal Judge Upholds Iowa’s Voter Integrity Measure Amid ACLU Challenge Over Ballot Scrutiny for Potential Noncitizens

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DES MOINES, Iowa — In a significant legal decision, a federal judge ruled on Sunday that he will not interfere with Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate’s initiative to challenge the registrations of approximately 2,200 voters suspected to be noncitizens. This ruling came as a response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Iowa, representing four naturalized citizens who believe they have been unjustly targeted under this policy. The crux of the ACLU’s argument in court last Friday was that Pate’s directive has created an unequal voting process by imposing extra steps for naturalized … Read more

D.C. Federal Judge Upholds Law Allowing Noncitizens to Vote in Local Elections, Ruling Lawsuit Lacks Evidence of Rights Violations

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WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has dismissed a lawsuit that challenged a local law allowing noncitizens to vote in municipal elections. In her ruling, Judge Amy Berman Jackson stated that the plaintiffs did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that the law violated their constitutional rights. The lawsuit was filed by a group of seven U.S. citizens who are registered to vote in the District of Columbia. They argued that the city’s “Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022” infringed upon their Fifth Amendment rights. However, Judge Jackson determined that … Read more