Democrats divorced from voters as 5 states back citizen-only voting, bolstering GOP push

Voters in five states overwhelmingly approved ballot measures barring noncitizens from voting, including Kansas, where Democrats scored a major Senate upset, and Alaska, where the Senate race remains uncalled.

Federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, but measures approved in Kansas, Alaska, Arkansas, South Dakota and West Virginia clarify or explicitly codify citizenship requirements for voting in state and local elections, with support exceeding 60% in each state. 

Election integrity advocates pointed to the results as evidence supporting President Donald Trump and Republicans argument that their push to require proof of citizenship for federal voter registration has "overwhelming bipartisan support."

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"I would absolutely agree that noncitizen voting bans are overwhelmingly popular," Jason Snead, executive director of Honest Elections Project, told Fox News Digital. "They enjoy bipartisan support."

A 2024 Gallup poll found that 83% of Americans, including 66% of Democrats, support requiring first-time voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

The ballot measure wins also come as the conservative-majority Supreme Court prepares to consider a related dispute over whether Arizona can require proof of citizenship on its state voter registration form and remove suspected noncitizens from the rolls before an election, a ruling that could affect how states enforce citizenship requirements.

Related election measures failed in California and Arizona. Californias Proposition 39 was defeated 58.5% to 41.4%, a margin of roughly 17 percentage points; the measure would have required voter ID and additional citizenship-verification procedures.

"I would note that the unique thing there is not only that California is openly hostile to the idea of trying to prevent noncitizen voting in terms of its elected leadership, but also the left poured more than $30 million into the ballot measure campaign to defeat that," Snead told Fox News Digital.

Snead said Arizonas measure was broader legislation that included several provisions beyond noncitizen voting, which may have contributed to its defeat.

The victories for the measures barring noncitizens from voting follow the Trump administration and congressional Republicans failed efforts to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

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The SAVE America Act also became a flashpoint in Congress, with Republicans and Democrats sparring over whether to attach it to a budget reconciliation package. Trumps effort to tie the bill to Department of Homeland Security funding contributed to a prolonged standoff during the departments shutdown. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans lacked the votes to pass it, while Democrats argued it would disenfranchise eligible voters.