El Pueblo rejects the constitutional reform proposed by a group of legislators under House Bill 1074, which proposes rewriting the state constitution to reaffirm something already established by law: that only U.S. citizens by birth or naturalization can vote in the state. 

HB1074 is completely unnecessary, voting without being a U.S. citizen is already a felony in North Carolina and voters must prove their citizenship before registering to vote in the state. 

Those who proposed this constitutional reform based this decision on anti-immigrant rhetoric, they insinuate without any evidence that immigrants can be a threat to the integrity of the electoral process. 

HB1074 will only create division, fear, and confusion in the electorate and may discourage naturalized citizens from exercising their right to vote in the November elections. 

Instead of pushing reforms like HB1074, lawmakers should invest their time and taxpayer money into providing the resources and staffing necessary to ensure the integrity of the electoral process and encourage all eligible voters, including naturalized immigrants, to participate. 

 

“Immigrants living in the U.S. are hardworking people from our local communities. They come from all walks of life and, like all of us, want to feel safe and have the opportunity to thrive. False claims suggesting that immigrants are working with a political party to influence the election are an attempt to sow distrust about the foundation of our democracy.” – Iliana Santillan, Executive Director of El Pueblo.