Other States Are Taking Additional Action to Prevent Non-U.S. Citizens From Voting. Why Aren’t We?

Image Credit: The Center Square & Canva

The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –

With 2024’s Election Day right around the corner, the discourse surrounding election integrity and concerns about non-U.S. citizens voting in state, local, and federal elections continues.

Across the country, states are attempting to take action on both sides of the issue in a multitude of ways. However, many conservative Tennesseans are left wondering why the state’s GOP leadership has not taken similar steps on behalf of their constituents as well as for the sake of election integrity and government transparency. 

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained from a Border Patrol agent by The Center Square, over 12.5 million people have been reported as crossing the border illegally since fiscal year 2021.

In August, a coalition of 24 different states including Kansas, Virgina, West Virginia, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah all called upon the U.S. Supreme Court to allow an election integrity law to go into effect in Arizona. 

Passed by Arizona lawmakers in 2022, this law requiring proof of citizenship in order to be a registered voter in the state has been tied up in court ever since.

The U.S. Supreme Court ended up granting a request from the RNC, supported by the 24-state coalition, to put a pause on the lower court ruling against the law for now. This allows Arizona to enforce a section of the law that requires state election officials to reject new state voter registration forms that are submitted without proof of U.S. citizenship. 

A recent chart published by The Center Square showed that a total of eight states, including Kentucky, Oklahoma, Missouri, Idaho, Iowa, Wisconsin, South Carolina and North Carolina are set to see ballot measures this fall to either explicitly ban or allow non-U.S. citizens from voting in state and local elections. 

The chart illustrates the policies and actions of different states on noncitizen voting in state and local elections. States with constitutions explicitly prohibiting noncitizen voting are colored red on the chart and Tennessee is not one of them.

“The fact that this isn’t red across the board tells me a lot about not approving the Save Act! How could you not approve that as a United States Citizen, and someone representing US Citizens!” one X user commented on The Tennessee Conservative’s reposting of this chart with a caption asking why Tennessee was not colored in Red on the chart.

“Because @BillLeeTN and the @TNGOP are corrupt. They want to retain power, line their pockets, or both. Because they don’t actually care about Tennessee or America. They only want to be perceived to care while going about their own business,” Host of Patriotism Under Fire Host, Dean Clouse, responded.

“If it isn’t building up the economy in TN, our Governor isn’t concerned about it,” wrote another commenter.

While some argue that it is unnecessary for states to explicitly prohibit noncitizen voting because federal law already does so, it is important to note that the federal law addresses federal elections, not state and local elections.

The Tennessee Constitution does not necessarily allow non-U.S. citizens to vote, however, it does not reject the idea explicitly like other state constitutions.

“Every person, being eighteen years of age, being a citizen of the United States, being a resident of the state for a period of time as prescribed by the General Assembly, and being duly registered in the county of residence for a period of time prior to the day of any election as prescribed by the General Assembly, shall be entitled to vote in all federal, state, and local elections held in the county or district in which such person resides. All such requirements shall be equal and uniform across the state, and there shall be no other qualification attached to the right of suffrage.” (TN Const art IV § 1)

However, current Tennessee law (TN Code § 2-2-102) exists as a supplement to this:

“(a)  A citizen of the United States eighteen (18) years of age or older who is a resident of this state is a qualified voter unless the citizen is disqualified under this title or under a judgment of infamy pursuant to § 40-20-112.

(b)

(1) An individual who is not a citizen of the United States shall not vote in a federal, state, or local election.

(2) A county, municipality, or other political subdivision of this state shall not grant voting rights to a person who is not a United States citizen for an election.”

Reportedly, only Arizona, Colorado, North Dakota, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida and Ohio have state constitutions that explicitly prohibit noncitizens from voting.

Tennessee Election integrity experts have stated that the process of enforcing elections laws is extremely flawed and that voter rolls are not properly monitored.

In addition, the experts state that poll workers are not properly trained for how to screen for non-U.S. citizens attempting to vote.

Reportedly, only Arizona, Colorado, North Dakota, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida and Ohio have state constitutions that explicitly prohibit noncitizens from voting.

Some areas of California, Maryland and Vermont even specifically allow for noncitizen voting.

Some municipalities like Frederick, Maryland, are currently ramping up their efforts to allow noncitizens to vote in the city primary election.

On the other hand, there is a case being prosecuted in Iowa right now by Attorney General Brenna Bird involving a resident without citizenship who is accused of registering to vote and voting.

Is it really a shock that election fraud continues to be such a hot topic when the differences between non-U.S. citizen related election laws in each state are this drastic?

Just this week, Governor Kevin Stitt (R-OK) and Oklahoma election officials reported that over 453,000 voter registrations had been removed since 2021. This included 97,065 deceased voters, 143,682 voters who moved out-of-state, 5,607 felons, 14,993 duplicate registrations, and 194,962 inactive voters cancelled during the address verification process.

Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter urging the federal government to release the citizenship status of every registered voter in order to determine voter eligibility. 

Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, followed up on the issue with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that same day, requesting citizenship data on Texas voters by October 2^nd “to ensure voter integrity.”

If so many other states are capable of taking clear steps towards more honest elections and prohibitions on noncitizen voting, the question remains, why aren’t we? Where is Tennessee’s leadership on the issue?

While Tennessee’s state legislature will not reconvene until January of 2025, Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) has the ability to call a special legislative session like he did with the special session on public safety following the Covenant School shooting in 2023.

Tennessee lawmakers also have the ability to petition for a special session on this issue, similar to what they did with the special session on Medical Freedom in the wake of Covid-19 repercussions.

Some Relevant Excerpts From The Tennessee Conservative’s Illegal Immigration Timeline:

• July, 2024 – It is uncovered that GOP State Representative candidate Lee Reeves (R-District 65) is the owner and operator of a business in Texas that houses hundreds of illegal aliens. Reeves went on to win the GOP Primary election in August against opponents Brian Beathard and The Tennessee Conservative’s pick Michelle Foreman.

• July, 2024 – An attempt by the Tennessee Coordinator of Elections to secure the state’s elections was stymied by Democrats and liberal ideologues.

• August, 2024 – Republicans from Tennessee fail to sign an emergency pledge at the RNC Convention in Milwaukee to make sure that only citizens vote in to November election.

• September, 2024 – The Biden-Harris Administration’s Department of Justice issues a warning that could potentially thwart state election officials’ future attempts to verify that all Tennessee voters are legal U.S. citizens.

Legislation Timeline – 2023

Requiring Immigration Status Check of Potential Voters – 

House Bill 0835 and Senate Bill 0137, sponsored by Representative Bryan Richey (R-Maryville-District 20) and Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald-District 28), respectively, sought to aid voter integrity by requiring the Coordinator of Elections to compare the statewide voter registration database with the Department of Safety database to ensure non-U.S. citizens are not registered to vote in Tennessee.

Legislation was “hijacked” by the chairman of the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee, Representative Gary Hicks (R-Rogersville-District 9), and taken off notice for the remainder of the session.

More bills were introduced to make the state a more agreeable place for illegal aliens but thanks to significant pushback from conservative Tennessee voters, the bills were withdrawn.

Tennessee’s Illegal Immigration Timeline (Update 9.20.24)

About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.