By Quinn Townsend – Alaska Policy Forum
Voting is a fundamental right and duty of American citizens. It is so important that enfranchisement is protected by four separate U.S. Constitutional amendments (the 15th, the 19th, the 24th, and the 26th).
Federal law requires U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections, yet some states and localities are allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections. According to Americans for Citizen Voting, “unless a state’s constitution specifically states that only citizens can vote, the possibility of non-citizens legally voting exists.” And in Alaska, the state constitution does not specify that only citizens are eligible to vote in state and local elections.
Currently, the Alaska constitution states: “Every citizen of the United States who is at least eighteen years of age, who meets registration residency requirements…may vote in any state or local election.” Upon a close reading, this language does not exclude non-citizens from voting; it only affirms that U.S. citizens who are residents of Alaska may do so. It bears repeating that non-U.S. citizens are not barred from voting in Alaska state and local elections.
Safeguarding faith in the integrity of Alaska elections is of vital importance, and explicitly permitting only U.S. citizens resident in the state to vote would preserve election integrity.
While this may seem like semantics contradicting what everybody knows was the intent of the state constitution, cities and counties in four states specifically allow non-citizens to vote in local elections. They are located in California, Maryland, New York, and Vermont. Three additional states are in the process of permitting non-citizen voters: Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maine. With our election systems already mixed up in the confusion of ranked-choice voting, non-citizen voting is the last thing Alaska should be piling onto concerns about election integrity.
To proactively preempt such a change, the state should consider amending its constitution explicitly to permit only U.S. citizens who are Alaska residents to vote in all elections, including state and local. Seven states have already taken this step: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, and North Dakota.
Safeguarding faith in the integrity of Alaska elections is of vital importance, and explicitly permitting only U.S. citizens resident in the state to vote would preserve election integrity. Our elections should be fair, transparent, legal, and reflective of the interests of the people who owe allegiance to our government, which is the definition of a citizen.
The views expressed here are those of the author.
9 Comments
Great, so if we the people vote for a Con.Con. and they bring this up we could end up with a democratic state too, am I correct? I thing Trump is correct here by saying if we’re residents and live in a state we all have a government ID. Show it to vote or be turned away.
There is no way an honest person could interpret that clause in the state constitution to mean non-citizens can vote. But we all know the AK Supreme Court would surely allow non-citizen voting if/when a case comes before them.
Martin Armstrong in an interview with Greg Hunter at USA Watchdog.com, stated that the word he’s getting from Washington DC, is that Biden will sign an Executive Order giving illegal aliens the right to vote, two weeks before the November Elections!
Anyone else getting the feeling the Democrats are baiting us into a civil war?
From a primarily helpless citizen’s point of view, I can’t understand why the White House gang and Biden are allowed to destroy the country. At the first signs of it, we should have done what people who love their country do. They protect it. We’ve been under attack for two years now and that’s a long time to just talk about it and say it’s wrong, crazy, etc. It isn’t the norm for the US to be attacked but what is crippling us in our responses as a nation? Covid isolation definitely did. We have to get over it. Covid mandates shut down our means of making a living and that had its effect. We have to believe for the full funding to come in. Public and military protections are compromised. Where will our protection come from? One another together. Curahee! The Lord is able to save by many or by few.
I have lived long enough to know that this has never been the state of the union before. It is a massive attack worthy of fighting. But how? The leaders among you will know what to do. I do not. Oh, I forgot. They are all locked up. Get the leaders from the bench then. They are just as good. As I said, I am speaking from the point of view of the vulnerable who are unable to mobilize but I will say what is possible, wave my flag on the end of my cane, and shout as loud as I can along with you.
Diana I wonder if you can provided me with some ways that the US has been attacked? I only remember January 6. That was a big attack but I don’t know if you agree.
Dems burned down the country summer 2020. Dems crashed our economy with outrageous blue state bailout spending. Dems have allowed an Invasion of the southern border. Those are just a few attacks …. I can list at least seven more. Don’t play dumb.
I’ve got a few: forcing kids to wear masks, even continuing to do so to this day in Federally funded head start programs; kicking military personnel out of the service over their exercise of legally protected religious freedom (civil rights act, RFRA); forcing high school aged girls to dress in the same locker room with gender confused boys and sexual predators (Laudon County, double rape conviction); Dept. of Interior cancelling oil leases throughout Alaska and the cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline; record-breaking illegal immigration at the southern border; record-breaking high energy prices here at home; proxy war with Russia in Ukraine with your tax dollars; sale of access to the office of the Vice President to CCP operatives by Joe Biden’s only living son Hunter; direct collusion between the White House and Big Tech to illegally suppress freedom of speech; FBI arresting several pro-life sidewalk counselors, but allowing domestic terrorists to burn down crisis pregnancy centers (as is the case with the one in Anchorage) and/or allowing BLM/AntiFa to burn down entire cities… ALL OF WHICH CAN BE TIED BACK TO JOE BIDEN either by executive orders, Title X revisions, Administrative border policies, or his son’s “laptop from Hell” enacted either during the Obama admin (when Joe was VP) or after he became President.
Paula, open your eyes!!
Alaska Watchman, how has Paola Estrada not been banned from your site yet? “It” is constantly trying to provoke opposing-viewed opponents by providing obviously paid-schill talking points against others instead of focusing on the topics that you post.
As to your question: ONLY ALASKANS should be voting in Alaskan Elections. If illegals want to vote according to the Resident’s “wishes,” then let them go to New York or L.A. or any other participating BLUE/Democraticly-run state and vote there.