Rep. Warren Petryk

As I continue to meet with people in the 93^rd Assembly District, folks have started to ask me about the state-wide referendum question on their ballots in the upcoming election. The question on the ballot relates to voter eligibility and whether non-citizens should be able to vote in Wisconsin elections. I thought I would take this week’s column to discuss the referendum question and provide some more information.

Currently under federal law, non-citizens are prohibited from voting in federal elections. This includes elections for President, the House of Representatives, and US Senate. However, the law leaves it up to states to determine who can vote in their elections. Currently, the Wisconsin Constitution states:

“Every United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district in this state is a qualified elector of that district.”

The current Wisconsin constitutional language ensures the right of every U.S. citizen in Wisconsin to vote. However, because the word “every” is used, it does not expressly state that people who are non-citizens are prohibited from voting. The proposal on the ballot would replace the word “every” with “only” and would apply the requirement to all Wisconsin elections, including referendums.

This means that a yes vote would allow for the change to prohibit non-citizens from voting in Wisconsin elections. A no vote means non-citizens, including those in the US illegally, could be able to vote in local elections.

Some have questioned if this change is needed at all. Currently there are a number of states that allow non-citizen voting in some local elections. For example, the Maryland State Constitution uses similar language as Wisconsin’s to ensure that every citizen can vote, but does not use the word “only” as proposed in Wisconsin. Because of that, as of September 2024, a number of Maryland municipalities will allow non-citizens to vote in their local elections. In addition, Washington, D.C. has allowed non-citizens to vote in their elections.

Currently, seven other states prohibit noncitizen voting in their elections through their constitution. Recently Colorado passed this change and it passed with over 62% support. This year Wisconsin will join with seven other states that have a ballot measure to explicitly prohibit non-citizen voting, including, Iowa, Idaho, and North Carolina.

I hope this information has been helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Rep.Petryk@legis.wisconsin.gov or call my office at 608-237-9193.