Federal law already allows only U.S. citizens to vote in elections for president and Congress. Yet Republicans are raising concerns about the potential for noncitizens voting in this year's elections.

It just made my morning to see that not only is the AP reporting this correctly, but the headline explicitly states the insane rarity of voter fraud. (Non-citizen or otherwise.) You have a better chance of getting a clear picture of Bigfoot than you do of having a voter fraud incident in your jurisdiction.

  • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.comEnglish
    1·
    4 months ago

    This article is referencing new bills that will disenfranchise legitimately registered voters

    Please quote where it says that. I see no such statement.

    What’s on the ballot?

    Republican-led legislatures in eight states have proposed constitutional amendments on their November ballots declaring that only citizens can vote.

    Proposals in Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin would replace existing constitutional provisions stating that “every” citizen or “all” citizens can vote with new wording saying “only” citizens can vote. Supporters contend the current wording does not necessarily bar noncitizens from voting.

    In Idaho and Kentucky, the proposed amendments would explicitly state: “No person who is not a citizen of the United States” can vote. Similar wording won approval from Louisiana voters two years ago.

    Voters in North Dakota, Colorado, Alabama, Florida and Ohio passed amendments between 2018 and 2022 restricting voting to “only” citizens.

    What about changing verbiage to be clear is “Disenfranchise”?

    • LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org
      14·
      4 months ago

      3rd paragraph in:

      Some Democrats contend the measures could create hurdles for legal voters, are unnecessary and lead people to believe the problem of noncitizens voting is bigger than it really is.

      Legislatures pass bills. Sometimes they are called resolutions, or other names, but the items that are voted on are bills. Prior to the passage of these bills, only citizens could legally vote anyway. Noncitizens face fines, jail, and deportation for an act that has no mathematical influence on these elections even if it were to happen, which it generally does not.

      By changing the language from “all citizens”, it sets up opportunities to selectively disenfranchise those citizens who are able and registered to vote. This selective enforcement will fall disproportionately on those people who belong to the targeted group - in this case, those who look like the people immigrating across the southern U.S. border - similar to how poll taxes and literacy tests were used to prevent other groups from exercising their legitimate right to vote. And that’s by design, else these measures would not be coupled with fear mongering about these people.

      • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.comEnglish
        2·
        4 months ago

        Some people believe the world is flat. That doesn’t make the statement true. They provided no clear example of how any of it could be doing what they claim it would do. So that random statement starting with “some democrats”… is meaningless.

        By changing the language from “all citizens”, it sets up opportunities to selectively disenfranchise those citizens who are able and registered to vote.

        No it doesn’t because the verbiage is “ONLY citizens” as the replacement. It’s still VERY clear that citizens are to vote. What it clears up is any argument that non-citizens should also be allowed to vote.

        • LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org
          11·
          4 months ago

          You’re moving goalposts again, as I provided the excerpt from the article that you asked for in your prior comment.

          The truth of the matter is that each of the racially motivated hurdles to voting I’ve previously noted follow a clear pattern of aiming to prevent certain groups from voting and this latest one is no different. No fluctuation of strawman arguments will change that

          • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.comEnglish
            1·
            4 months ago

            This article is referencing new bills that will disenfranchise legitimately registered voters

            No. This is what you stated. Instead of showing where any disenfranchisement would happen you quoted

            Some Democrats contend the measures could create hurdles for legal voters

            This is not evidence of any disenfranchisement is occurring Instead you’re just wildly speculating that there’s some random clear pattern of some sort that simply doesn’t exist.