What to know about noncitizen voting and the November referendum question in Wisconsin [View all]

In addition to voting for president, members of Congress and state lawmakers on the Nov. 5 ballot, Wisconsin voters will see the fifth and final statewide referendum question of the year.

The question at the heart of the referendum, led by Republican lawmakers, is whether to prevent Wisconsin from allowing noncitizens to vote in the future. Cities in some states have allowed noncitizens to vote in local school board elections, for example, but nowhere in Wisconsin allows that.

Democrats and voting rights groups are concerned a simple change in wording — that "only" rather than "every" citizen can vote — could weaken how voting rights are laid out in the state constitution. They also worry the question will spur up harmful rhetoric toward immigrants and lead voters to believe noncitizens are fraudulently voting in the state, which is extremely rare.

Here's an explanation of the referendum question, what noncitizen voting is, the groups on both sides of the referendum question, and why there have been so many referendum questions on Wisconsin's ballots this year:



https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/09/26/wisconsin-noncitizen-voting-referendum-in-november-election-explained/75147570007/