A concurrent RESOLUTION

 

to respectfully request that the united states congress propose an amendment to the united states constitution to be submitted to the states for ratification providing that only citizens of the united states may qualify to vote in any primary or other election for president or vice president, for electors for president and vice president, or for senator or representative in congress.

 

Whereas, Article I, Section 2, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution grants to each state the exclusive power to determine who qualifies to vote in elections for representatives for Congress: "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature"; and

 

Whereas, the Seventeenth Amendment of the United States Constitution grants to each state the exclusive power to determine who qualifies to vote in elections for senators for Congress: "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures"; and

 

Whereas, while some amendments prohibit states from disenfranchising persons for reasons such as race or sex, no provision of the constitution or any amendment grants Congress the power to determine who qualifies to vote in local, state, or federal elections; and

 

Whereas, no provision of the United States Constitution or any amendment prohibits a state from qualifying non-citizens to vote in elections for its legislature; and

 

Whereas, if a state qualifies non-citizens to vote for its legislature, then the constitution requires those same non-citizens must qualify to vote in elections for representatives and senators for Congress; and

 

Whereas, in earlier historical times most states qualified non-citizens to vote in elections for its legislature and thereby in federal elections; and

 

Whereas, no federal statute that claims to prohibit non-citizens from voting in federal elections can override the power granted by the constitution to each state to determine who qualifies to vote in elections for its legislature and thereby in federal elections; and

 

Whereas, the voters of South Carolina ratified an amendment to the South Carolina Constitution in 2024 by a super majority of eighty-six percent that prohibits non-citizens residing in South Carolina from voting in local, state, or federal elections; and

 

Whereas, the constitutions of most states do not prohibit the state legislature from legally qualifying non-citizens to vote in elections for its legislature and thereby in federal elections; and

 

Whereas, only an amendment to the United States Constitution can guarantee to South Carolinians and the American people that only citizens can vote in federal elections across all fifty states.  Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

 

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, do hereby respectfully request that the United States Congress expeditiously propose the following amendment to the United States Constitution to be submitted to the States for ratification:

 

"Article ____

 

Section 1. Only citizens of the United States may qualify to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress.

 

Section 2. Appropriate legislation to enforce this article shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof, but Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation for the district constituting the seat of government of the United States."

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the members of the South Carolina congressional delegation.

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