States with "Only Citizrens Vote" Laws

States with “Only Citizens Vote” Laws

As of 2026, at least 13 states and Guam have enacted laws requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, and eight states have amended their constitutions to explicitly ban noncitizen voting National Conference of State Legislatures+1.

Constitutional Amendments

Eight states have approved ballot measures amending their constitutions to state that only U.S. citizens may vote:

• Alabama

• Colorado

• Florida

• Louisiana

• North Dakota

• Ohio

• Iowa (76% approval in 2024)

• Kentucky (62% approval in 2024)

• Missouri

• Oklahoma

• South Carolina

• Wisconsin Federation for American Immigration Reform

These amendments remove legal ambiguity and make the citizenship requirement part of the state’s foundational law.

Statutory Laws Requiring Proof of Citizenship

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 13 states and Guam have passed legislation requiring documentary proof of citizenship at some point in the voter registration process National Conference of State Legislatures. These laws vary in:

• When proof is required (at registration, during a renewal, or via other triggers)

• What documents are accepted (e.g., passport, birth certificate, naturalization certificate)

• How proof is verified (e.g., through DMV records for REAL ID purposes)

Some of these laws have been challenged in court and may not be in force National Conference of State Legislatures.

Other Approaches

Some states have not enacted explicit constitutional or statutory proof-of-citizenship laws but instead:

• Use voter list audits and existing state data (e.g., DMV records) to confirm citizenship National Conference of State Legislatures.

• Require voters to swear under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens votingrightslab.org.

Key Takeaways

• Constitutional amendments: 12 states (including IA, KY, MO, NC, OK, SC, WI, AL, CO, FL, LA, ND, OH) Federation for American Immigration Reform.

• Statutory proof-of-citizenship laws: 13 states + Guam National Conference of State Legislatures.

• These measures are part of a broader trend of restrictive voting laws, but they specifically target ensuring only U.S. citizens can vote.

For the most current and detailed list, the NCSL’s Legislative Approaches to Ensuring Only Citizens Vote page provides a state-by-state breakdown National Conference of State Legislatures.