Texas Bans Noncitizens from Voting in All Local Elections After Constitutional Amendment Passes

Texas voters have decisively passed a constitutional amendment that cements a ban on noncitizen voting in all state and local elections. Proposition 16, approved with over 71% of the vote as of Wednesday, updates the Texas Constitution to explicitly state that “persons who are not citizens of the United States” are prohibited from voting.

While noncitizens were already barred from voting in federal elections under U.S. law, the new language gives the rule additional force at the state level. Texas joins a growing number of Republican-led states moving to clarify and strengthen voting requirements by enshrining citizenship language in their constitutions.

The state constitution already prohibited certain categories of individuals from voting—such as convicted felons who haven’t completed the conditions for reinstatement and those declared mentally incompetent by a court. This amendment adds noncitizens to that list and requires another statewide constitutional vote for any future change.

Governor Greg Abbott praised the move as part of broader election integrity efforts. “Illegal voting in Texas will never be tolerated,” Abbott said last year as the state removed more than a million ineligible voters from its rolls, including more than 6,500 noncitizens. “We will continue to actively safeguard Texans’ sacred right to vote.”

The measure comes amid heightened national attention on election security and ongoing concerns over noncitizen voting. Although it is rare and already illegal under federal law for noncitizens to vote in federal races, Democrats in several deep-blue jurisdictions have supported local ordinances allowing noncitizens to vote in municipal elections. States like California, Maryland, and Vermont currently allow noncitizen voting in certain local contexts.

Texas becomes the latest red state to counter that trend. According to Ballotpedia, 14 states have now adopted constitutional amendments requiring proof of citizenship to vote in state and local races, and others—like Arkansas, Kansas, and South Dakota—are expected to vote on similar proposals next year.