Proposed Georgia bill restricts voting to U.S. citizens

GEORGIA, Ga. (WALB) — A new bill introduced to the Georgia Senate could create a constitutional amendment to restrict voting to legal U.S. citizens.

The bill, Senate Resolution 4EX says, “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people.”

If passed, Georgians will vote on the constitutional amendment in the November election.

Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger said “I have been calling on the legislature for years to pass this amendment to the state constitution. I am glad to see the legislature finally act to ensure only American citizens are voting in our elections.”

According to Raffensperger, Georgia was the first state in the nation to conduct citizen verification of voter rolls. Since 2022, Raffensperger’s office conducted two citizenship audits of Georgia’s voter rolls.

SR 4EX Text

“Casting a vote is one of the most important elements of American citizenship. Any illegal vote dilutes the value of a citizen’s lawfully cast ballot. U.S. Citizens should decide Georgia elections. Period. I urge the legislature to pass this important legislation.”

The state uses information from the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) to identify people who are non-citizens. This data is based on documents provided to DDS, through its REAL ID drivers licenses or state identification cards.

That information is also ran through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to verify an individual’s citizenship status.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook, Instagram and X. For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app and add WALB as a preferred source on Google.