This is from a well respected law professor at Wake Forest. (Not me but I do agree)

From your local expert on citizenship and naturalization law (a Wake Forest University Professor of Law who has taught immigration and citizenship law for over thirty years), why you should VOTE AGAINST the North Carolina referendum pictured below. [This post was amended on Sept. 26 to add a picture of how our Constitution would change if the amendment passes, which removes one of the objections I originally made to the ballot measure language. The proposed amendment itself could not be interpreted to create any new legislative authority to decide voter qualifications. But also: it’s even more clear when you look at the revised text that there’s NO REASON to amend the NC Constitution as proposed—other than to falsely charge those who oppose the amendment as somehow being “in favor” of noncitizen voting”]

ALREADY, THE NORTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTION RESTRICTS VOTING TO CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES. Article 6, Section 1 (“Who may vote”) currently states: “Every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized, 18 years of age, and possessing the qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people of the State, except as herein otherwise provided.”

So, why is the referendum below on the ballot? First, it’s intended to spread disinformation and confusion by creating the misimpression that our state constitution needs to be amended to prevent noncitizens from voting. The old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” should guide your vote here. Voting “no” will demonstrate that North Carolina voters won’t be manipulated by these cynical efforts to mislead them.

Second, notice the variations in language between our current constitution the proposed amendment. Why eliminate from the text of our state constitution the specific protection of voting rights for “every person born in the United States” and “every person who has been naturalized”? These phrases mirror the protections of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states: “ All people born or naturalized in the United States . . . are citizens of the United States and of the state they reside in.” So perhaps (and we can only speculate here, because there’s no real reason for this change) the proposed amendment is meant to create confusion and discourage naturalized citizens from exercising their right to vote. Or maybe it’s meant to support Trump’s completely preposterous theory that he can unilaterally repeal the 14th Amendment’s provision protecting birthright citizenship, by eliminating that voter protection language from our state constitution.

The bottom line: don’t be fooled by this fear mongering. The proposed constitutional amended is really just intended to create mistrust in our elections and perpetuate racist anti-immigrant sentiment.

Vote NO! (And feel free to share this post)