Our Constitution reveals that only citizens of the United States are permitted to vote.
The Constitution’s 14th Amendment defines “All persons born or naturalized in the United Sates, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States” (ratified 1868).
The 15th Amendment states that the rights of United States citizens to vote shall not be denied due to race or color (ratified 1870).
The 24th Amendment clarifies the right of citizens of the United States to vote without paying a poll tax (ratified 1964).
The 26th Amendment states that citizens of the United States who are 18 years of age or older shall not be denied the right to vote (ratified 1971).
If polling places were to require citizenship documents, they would be aligning with the Constitution. If not, individual states’ polling requirements will continue, some of which, like Pennsylvania, are not permitted to ask voters for identification.
If you examine the 14th Amendment in the context of individual state voting, it should be very apparent that Pennsylvania is not following the Constitution. However, the SAVE America Act could direct polls to only accept citizen voters. Otherwise, I assume we can expect noncitizens to vote.
Terry Feitknecht
Tarentum
