Texans pass Proposition 16 which prohibits noncitizens from voting

By Aaron Barker
Updated  November 4, 2025 9:48pm CST
FOX Local

I VOTED stickers are seen at a polling station on the campus of the University of California, Irvine, on Nov. 6, 2018 in Irvine, California on Election Day. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images))

The Brief

    • Texas voters approved Proposition 16 that was put forward by SJR 37.
    • The measure adds noncitizens to the list of people prohibited from voting in state elections.

Texas voters passed Proposition 16  on Tuesday, which adds noncitizens to the list of people who are prohibited from voting in state elections.

SJR 37 alters Section 1 of Article 6 of the Texas Constitution to include people who are not citizens of the U.S. in a list of people already prohibited from voting. The list includes convicted felons who do not meet exceptions outlined by the state legislature and people who have been declared mentally incompetent by a court.

Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections.

Ballot language: "The constitutional amendment clarifying that a voter must be a United States citizen."

The Source:  Information in this story came from Texas Legislature Online.

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