|Photo courtesy of WV Legislative Photography| Delegate Scot Heckert, R-Wood, explains his joint resolution to add an amendment to the state Constitution further barring non-citizens from voting in West Virginia elections.

CHARLESTON – West Virginia would join several states enshrining a ban on non-citizens from voting in state, county and municipal elections under a proposed constitutional amendment.

The House Standing Judiciary Committee Monday morning moved House Joint Resolution 13 to amend the Constitution to prohibit persons who are not U.S. citizens from voting in any election in this state to the second step of its new two-step process for reviewing bills. Committee members will begin the markup and discussion phase for the bill at its next meeting.

HJR 13 would modify Article IV, Section 1 of the state Constitution. The proposed amendment explicitly states that non-citizens are ineligible to vote and clarifies existing voting eligibility requirements in State Code, emphasizing citizenship as a prerequisite.

The joint resolution would need to be adopted by both the full House and state Senate by a two-thirds vote of each body, then be ratified by voters in the next general election. The amendment is designated “Amendment 1” or the “Citizens Voting Amendment.”

In the House’s new two-day process for committees to evaluate bills, the first day is for gathering information, hearing from bill or resolution sponsors, agency reviews, and receiving public input.

Delegate Scot Heckert, R-Wood, a member of the committee, is HJR 13’s lead sponsor. He said he introduced a similar joint resolution last year at the recommendation of the Secretary of State.

“The purpose of this resolution is just codifying in conjunction with what the federal law is in the state of West Virginia. That’s pretty simple,” Heckert said. “We did it last year. It passed overwhelmingly both in the House and the Senate. We just ran out of time on the last day.”

Last year, the House adopted HJR 21 that also would have added a prohibition to non-citizen voting to the state Constitution. The joint resolution was adopted in a unanimous vote. The Senate amended the joint resolution and unanimously adopted it, but the resolution died on the last night of the 2024 legislative session.

According to the National Immigration Forum, certain non-citizens could vote in federal, state and local elections in 33 states up to 1924, with Missouri becoming the first state to bar non-citizen voting in federal elections. Other states followed suit, but it wasn’t until the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 when the Congress criminalized non-citizen voting in federal elections.

In November, eight states considered similar ballot measures to bar non-citizens from voting in their elections, including neighboring Kentucky. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill over the summer requiring U.S. residents to show proof of citizenship in order to vote, though the U.S. Senate has not taken up that bill.

The West Virginia Constitution does not prohibit non-citizen voting currently. State Code 3-2-2 already requires registered voters in West Virginia to be U.S. citizens and legal residents of West Virginia and of the county where the person is registering to vote. State Code 3-9-17 sets criminal penalties for anyone who votes knowing that they are not legally allowed to do so. Illegal voting is a felony charge, and conviction could result in a sentence of between one and 10 years in prison, up to a $10,000 fine, or both.

“The requirements and current State Code are A) that you be a citizen of the United States, and B) you be a legal resident of West Virginia and the county where you’re registering and then be 18,” said Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia. “So, why do we need a constitutional amendment if it’s already in State Code?”

The Secretary of State’s Office is unable to confirm or deny any active investigation regarding alleged violations of state election. But when it comes to successful convictions of violators of elections laws in conjunction with county prosecuting attorneys, the office reports only one successful conviction of a non-citizen since 2017.

Isac Dakuyo, a non-citizen from Burkina Faso, was convicted in 2019 after registering to vote and casting a ballot in the 2016 general election in Berkeley County. He was given a misdemeanor charge of false swearing and pleaded no contest to the charge, entering a diversion program that

Most election law violations involve people trying to illegally vote in West Virginia and another state during the same election, absentee ballot fraud, falsifying signatures, false voter registrations, and attempting to vote while still serving a sentence as a convicted felon.