Raffensperger renews push for ban on noncitizens voting

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has renewed his call for a constitutional amendment prohibiting non-U.S. citizens from voting in elections in Georgia.

Raffensperger said a recent surge in illegal immigrants crossing the nation's southern border makes stopping noncitizens from voting more important than ever.

'Organizations like the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda are currently suing to end critical citizenship verification in our registration process, potentially exposing our elections to foreign interference and diluting the power of legally registered voters,' he said.

'I'm calling on the General Assembly to take immediate action and pass a constitutional amendment ensuring that no liberal group can leverage the courts to add noncitizens to our voter rolls.'

The issue last surfaced in the legislature during the 2022 session, when Democrats in the state Senate shot down a proposed constitutional amendment banning noncitizens from voting in Georgia elections. Democrats argued the legislation was unnecessary because such a prohibition already exists both in state law and in the Georgia Constitution.

About eight in 10 new Georgia voters apply for registration automatically when they get or update their driver's license. The state Department of Driver Services verifies citizenship status of license applicants.

Raffensperger conducted the first citizenship audit of Georgia's voter rolls in the state's history last year. The audit found 1,634 people who had tried to register to vote could not be verified as U.S. citizens.