South Carolina defeats noncitizen voting ban

South Carolina voters defeated a GOP-backed proposal on Tuesday that seeks to block non-U.S. citizens from voting in elections in a move that critics have said is “completely unnecessary.”

The measure would have amended the state’s constitution to allow “only” citizens to vote in elections, as former President Trump and other Republicans have spread unfounded claims that there is widespread noncitizen voter fraud.

State Sen. Chip Campsen (R-S.C.) said in remarks obtained by The Post and Courier that the effort is a “belt and suspenders approach” to prevent changes in the court later on.

“Constitutional provisions are for the long run. Unless you're OK with noncitizens voting, there’s no reason for you to oppose this,” Campsen said. 

However, Democrats and advocates have come out against such pushes, noting noncitizens are already blocked from voting in federal elections – and are only allowed to participate in local elections in a few cities.

Though illegal voting and legal non-citizen voting are separate issues, the two are often conflated in public discourse.

But numbers crunched over the years also paint a different picture, with a study carried out by the Brennan Center for Justice noting “an estimated 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting” out of millions of votes tallied across dozens of districts in 2016.

South Carolina is one of a more than handful with similar noncitizen voting bans on the ballot this year, as immigration has been a top-of-mind issue for many voters heading into the 2024 presidential election. 

Rafael Bernal contributed.