CITIZEN ONLY

Most people assume that in order to vote in the United States, a person must be a citizen of the United States. However, that’s not always the case — sometimes noncitizens do vote, legally or illegally.

There are now 21 cities throughout the nation allowing noncitizens to vote, legally — including, oftentimes, noncitizens in the country illegally.

Here in Michigan, we saw last November that noncitizens were able to vote illegally — the Chinese student at UM and then at least 15 more noncitizens cast ballots.

When a non‑citizen casts a ballot—like all those we know did in Michigan’s 2024 General Election—it cancels out the vote of a lawful U.S. citizen, diminishing the voice of those who are legally eligible to participate.

Federal law requires citizenship in order to vote in a federal election, but that law does not apply to state and local elections. 
 
Michigan’s Constitution should specifically state that only U.S. citizens can vote.

We need the Secretary of State to regularly verify the voter rolls, removing noncitizens from the rolls in a careful, lawful process.

We need mandatory voter ID, showing a government-issued photo identification, so we know who is voting. You need a photo ID to adopt a pet, to fly, or to buy cough syrup. Voting is even more important.

This is not a Republican or Democrat issue—82% of Michiganders agree that only citizens should be voting in our elections.