Election 2020: Amendment 76 - Citizenship voting requirement

With the COVID-19 pandemic making in-person voting a health risk for many, the 2020 election will be conducted by mail-in voting on a wider scale than ever before. After recent mail-in primaries in New York and Florida that took weeks to count, officials in both presidential campaigns have raised doubts about the entire process and suggest the system is ripe for potential fraud, particularly from non-citizens.

Evidence to date shows those fears might be unfounded, problems in the aforementioned primaries notwithstanding. In a study conducted by the Electronic Registration Information Center, the amount of voter fraud, specifically by mail, was only 0.0025% of votes between both the general election in 2016 and the 2018 midterms.

There is still a concern around non-citizens voting in for some, so Coloradans will be voting on Amendment 76 this November. "YES on 76 is a simple word change," said Joseph Stengel, a real estate attorney and representative from Colorado Citizen Voters, the group in favor of the amendment. "It amends Colorado's Constitution to provide that ONLY A CITIZEN of the United States shall be an elector. It ensures that every Colorado elector will be a citizen of Colorado and of the United States."

Colorado Citizen Voters originates from Citizen Voters, Inc., which is a PAC backed by a former Missouri lawmaker and based in Florida.

Colorado law already provides that individuals must be U.S. citizens when registering to vote. Under section three of the voter registration form, one must provide identification such as a driver's license and social security number.

Then, section nine is a declaration: "I affirm that I am a citizen of the United States. I have been a resident of Colorado for at least twenty-two days immediately before an election."

Given that Colorado state and federal elections are open only to American citizens--Colorado is a home rule state for some cities, so municipalities have some leeway in terms of election eligibility--it doesn't seem that this semantic change would impact non-citizen voting.

But, ACLU media strategist Deanna Hirsch argues that not only would Amendment 75 isolate and intimidate immigrant voters who have become U.S. citizens, but it would also disenfranchise young voters.

As previously reported in an LLHVC article from February, Colorado has progressive voting laws in terms of young people. The state allows 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote when they get their driver's license and 17-year-olds may vote in primary elections if they turn 18 by the time of the general election.

"Because Amendment 76 would change the language from 'every' to 'only,' tens of thousands of 17-year-olds would immediately lose that right and the ability to participate in our democracy," Hirsch said, referring to their current right to vote in primary elections before they turn 18.

This change is significant, because more than 10,000 17-year-olds voted in the primary elections this year, according to Hirsch. Should this amendment pass, it would drastically undercut voter participation and outreach she believes.

The initiative does have some diverse support and "is particularly strong with naturalized citizens who came to the U.S. from every corner of the world," said Stengel. "This measure also has strong support from veterans who have served to protect our basic fundamental rights."

Hirsch believes that "support for Amendment 76 can only decrease. Once it is exposed that Amendment 76 was put on the ballot by a Florida-based organization intending to push an anti-immigrant agenda, while disenfranchising our newly empowered 17-year-olds , Colorado will likely grow unfavorable for 76."

The secretary of state's office puts out lists of groups both in favor and in opposition to various ballot measures. More information can be found here.

For more information about Colorado Citizen Voters, the proponents, visit: www.coloradocitizenvoters.com/

For more information from the ACLU, some opponents, visit: aclu-co.org