Citizenship Requirement Amendment a matter of language, geography
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West Virginia residents will see an amendment to Article IV, Section 1 of the West Virginia Legislature this Election Day. Here's what to know about the amendment.
The current law reads that "The citizens of the state shall be entitled to vote at all elections held within the counties in which they respectively reside; but no person who is a minor, or who has been declared mentally incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction, or who is under conviction of treason, felony or bribery in an election, or who has not been a resident of the state and of the county in which he offers to vote, for thirty days next preceding such offer, shall be permitted to vote while such disability continues; but no person in the military, naval or marine service of the United States shall be deemed a resident of this state by reason of being stationed therein," according to the W.Va. legislature website.
The amendment would change the text's wording to "Only citizens of the United States who are citizens of this state shall be entitled to vote at all elections held within the counties in which they respectively reside; but a person who is a minor, or who has been declared mentally incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction, or who is under conviction of treason, felony or bribery in an election, or who has not been a resident of the state and of the county in which he or she offers to vote, for 30 days next preceding such offer, shall not be permitted to vote while such disability continues; and, a person in the military, naval, or marine service of the United States shall not be deemed a resident of this state by reason of being stationed therein."
While the current law requires voters to be a "citizen of the state" to vote, it does not explicitly say that they must be "citizens of the state and the United States." West Virginia law requires a resident to be a citizen of the United States to register to vote.
Federal law, as expressed in the 14th Amendment in the Constitution and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, currently prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections.
No state constitutions clearly state that noncitizens are eligible to vote in state or local elections; however municipalities across California, D.C., Maryland and Vermont allowed noncitizens to vote in local elections, according to https://ballotpedia.org/Laws_permitting_noncitizens_to_vote_in_the_United_States.
Eighteen states describe in their constitution that noncitizens are not allowed to vote, and six states currently have amendments on their upcoming election ballots to rewrite their bylaws, including West Virginia.
The amendment was proposed during the 2026 Legislative Session by the Senate. Sen. Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson) was the bill's lead sponsor.
Dale Sparks, Chairman of the Mon County Republican Executive Committee, said the group fully supports Rucker's constitutional amendment to further protect the rights of state citizens.
"It's already state law, so by making an amendment to the Constitution, it has a higher bar and possibility of ever being changed," he said.
While Sparks said he has no evidence of noncitizens voting in West Virginia elections, the amendment is "common sense" and ensures no voter fraudulency. He encourages everyone eligible to vote in this upcoming election.
"Everybody, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, whatever other party they are, we need people out there to vote," Sparks said. "We don't need to be apathetic and not go out and vote. The more people that get out and vote, the more we have a sense of what our community wants."
Rachel Fetty Anderson, a Monongalia County Democrat running for U.S. Senate, explained that to register to vote, citizens must already show proof of residency, making the amendment obsolete.
"It doesn't seem to be helpful at all, and it doesn't further the interests of democracy," she said.
Anderson is more concerned about the 30-day residency requirement limiting voting access to new state residents or military personnel. However, there is no current amendment to change this portion of the law.
"I haven't heard anything from the West Virginia Legislature about any incidents of people who are voting wrongfully in the state of West Virginia, and I don't think it's appropriate to turn aside voters based on some of these requirements," she said.
She agreed with Sparks that voting is one of the most crucial parts of democracy.
"I really encourage everyone to vote. It is such an important responsibility that we all have," she said. "I know sometimes people don't believe that their vote makes a difference, but in a small state, in a small county, in a small town, your vote can make all the difference in the world."
Mon County resident Jeff Walker called the text "clear as day" and said he will be voting "yes" on the amendment.
"It's a fairly simple amendment. The full text is only one paragraph. It amends the wording so that only citizens of the United States who are citizens of this state shall be entitled to vote," he said. "Before, it didn't say citizens of the United States. It said 'citizens of West Virginia.'"
Walker said without the clarification, the Constitution's current wording "leaves an opening" for noncitizens to vote in municipal elections, particularly school boards or city councils. He said this amendment is necessary for West Virginia to maintain its voting integrity.
"You can't be so myopic that you can't see what's happened all over the country, and that could happen here just as easily," he said. "The goal is to prevent that from occurring. You don't build a boat after it starts to rain."