Only U.S. citizens should vote in American elections — including North Carolina’s state and local elections.  

It might sound like common sense, but it seems rather uncommon, given the pushback against a bill that was recently approved by the General Assembly that would amend North Carolina’s constitution to explicitly prohibit non-citizens from voting in state and local elections. 

Opponents on the left claim that non-citizen voting is a nonissue. But given the massive influx of illegal immigrants into our country in the last several years, now is absolutely the time to close a loophole that could permit non-citizen voting.  

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That’s why my colleagues and I introduced HB 1407 to give North Carolinians the opportunity to decide in November whether or not to add this common sense safeguard to our state constitution.  

If approved by the voters, the amendment would implement a simple change to our state constitution. It would state that “only a citizen of the United States” may vote in state and local elections, thereby clearly and explicitly prohibiting non-citizens from ever being able to vote in a state or local election in North Carolina.  

It’s a small adjustment with big implications. As more and more states allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, this change would secure the Tarheel State’s elections from outside influence both now and in the future.  

The current language in our state constitution does indeed specify that every person born in the United States or naturalized as a citizen can vote, but it doesn’t specify that non-citizens can’t vote — and this is a loophole that is at risk of exploitation. We no longer have the luxury of potentially ambiguous gray areas and unsecured loopholes in our laws, especially when it comes to elections.  

It’s a fact that more than 10 million illegal immigrants have entered the United States since President Joe Biden took office. Hundreds of individuals apprehended at the border have been found to be on the terrorist watchlist. Others have been found to have connections to the Chinese Communist Party and violent organized crime rings. It’s not unreasonable to say we don’t want individuals with these connections voting in our elections.  

Our bill would ensure these individuals can’t cast a ballot in North Carolina and remove any potential for outside influence in our elections.  

What happens if we don’t pass this? A loophole remains in our constitution that could allow non-citizens to vote in our elections. Despite the Left’s claims that this isn’t happening, it indeed is, and non-citizen voting does have the potential to sway elections.  

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Municipalities in Washington, D.C., California, Maryland, and Vermont all allow non-citizens to vote in local elections. And in New York City, a law would have allowed 800,000 non-citizens to vote for mayor, city council, and local races. This number surpassed the margin of New York City’s 2020 mayoral race — meaning non-citizen voting could have swayed the election had the law not been found unconstitutional.  

The risk of outside influence in our elections through non-citizen voting should give anyone pause, regardless of political party.  

It’s a small adjustment with big implications. As more and more states allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, this change would secure the Tarheel State’s elections from outside influence both now and in the future.  

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North Carolina isn’t alone in seeking to close this loophole. By adjusting the language in our state constitution to explicitly ban non-citizen voting, we would join states like Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Ohio, which have similar constitutional language. Other states, like Iowa, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, will also be voting on similar bans this fall.  

The threat to our elections is clear. But we can solve this real and pressing problem once and for all with a simple change to the language in our state constitution.  

North Carolina elections should only be decided by legal voters — and that means only U.S. citizens. I am proud to support this important piece of legislation and confident the voters of North Carolina will approve this logical step to keep our elections secure from outside influence.  

A pair of close friends from Georgia who were part of each other’s wedding parties have been charged for allegedly bedding male students at the Georgia school district where they worked.

Calhoun City Schools staffers Railey Greeson and Brooklyn Shuler were allegedly sleeping with students between October 2021 and January 2022, according to 11Alive.

Authorities said Greeson had sex with two students between Oct. 29, 2021 and Jan. 3, 2022, while Shuler was allegedly intimate with another male during the same period.

The ages of the targeted students were not released.

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Shuler and Greeson – who referred to themselves as “ride or die” friends online – are now facing first-degree charges of sexual contact by an employee, according to the New York Post.

If convicted, they could each face up to 25 years in prison or a fine of up to $100,000.

Police did not disclose if they were classroom teachers in the district or served in another role.

Besties Brooklyn Shuler, left, and Railey Greeson, pictured with their husbands, are accused of having sex with students at the Georgia school where they worked. (Zola/Facebook)

Greeson was Shuler’s maid of honor at her November 2022 wedding in Tunnel Hill, Georgia – mere months after her alleged relationship with the student.

The wedding registry website that referenced Shuler’s nuptials has since been scrubbed.

Shuler returned the favor to her friend in October 2023, serving as her maid of honor at her Tennessee wedding, according to Greeson’s wedding page.

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Former Calhoun City Schools employee Railey Greeson. (The Knot/Facebook)

The site shows her and her beau in a series of romantic poses, telling readers that he asked her to be his girlfriend after his high school football game.

Greeson attended Calhoun High School and graduated in 2019.

She later graduated from Kennesaw State before entering the education field.

“Communicating feedback in the forms of grades and averages can really stress students out and cause them to struggle,” she wrote on her since deleted X profile.

Best friends Brooklyn Shuler, left, and Railey Greeson are accused of having sex with students in the Calhoun City Schools. (Zola)

Despite her arrest, Greeson is still present on her husband’s Facebook page.

“Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone,” he wrote on the page after his wife’s arrest.

Shuler’s spouse has apparently ended their marriage, according to the Gordon Gazette.

Both friends were arrested and processed at Gordon County Jail and were later released on bond, the local outlet reported.

Calhoun Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Coastal Resources Division (CRD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (Georgia DNR) is asking anglers who fillet their red snappers to donate the bodies of the fish.

The call comes as officials attempt to conserve the fishery for future generations.

The red snapper (lutjanus campechanus) is an economically valuable and ecologically important reef fish, according to the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.

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Freezers located along Georgia’s coast at marinas and bait shops will store the carcasses. 

The carcasses will be examined by CRD biologists to gather data on age, size and growth, then shared with regional and federal partners and used in fishery management, according to a press release.

Biologists will also gather small pieces of fin tissue from harvested fish for a large-scale genetics study in an effort to find the total number of red snappers in the Atlantic population.

The donation freezer stations are not limited to red snapper, and anglers are invited to donate carcasses of other species as well.

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“The more data we have, the better our estimates are. We have a wide variety of surveys and programs to gather data, and the input from recreational anglers is a vital part of our data-gathering process,” Carolyn Belcher, CRD’s chief of marine fisheries said in a statement, according to the Georgia DNR’s release.

Red snappers grow at a moderate rate, reaching near 40 inches long and weighing 50 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (iStock)

Red snappers grow at a moderate rate, reaching near 40 inches long and weighing 50 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

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The fish have longevity with a red snapper as old as 57 years being reported.

The request for the fish carcasses comes with an incentive for anglers.

Each recreational angler will be allowed to fish one red snapper per day with no size restriction. (iStock/Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division)

After donating a carcass at a freezer station, donors will be entered into a raffle to win a $50 gift card to Academy Sports sporting goods store.

In order to qualify, anglers or boat groups must complete a registration card and attach it to the plastic bag holding the carcasses. 

Recreational anglers will be allowed to harvest red snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic on Friday, July 12.

Each recreational angler will be allowed to fish one red snapper per day with no size restriction.