West Virginia lawmakers advance ballot measure for noncitizen voting ban

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West Virginia’s House of Delegates passed a resolution Tuesday that would let voters decide whether to prohibit people who are not U.S. citizens from voting in elections.

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The resolution passed on a 96-0 vote with little debate and now moves to the state Senate. Both chambers are overwhelmingly Republican. If the 34-member Senate passes the resolution by a two-thirds vote, it would be placed on the general election ballot in November.

Seen here is West Virginia's Capitol dome in Charleston, West Virginia. (AP Photo/Jeff Gentner, File)

Republican Delegate Tom Fast of Fayette County said in explaining the resolution that a citizen of West Virginia is currently defined by residency in the state constitution.

Federal law already requires U.S. citizenship to vote in national elections.

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According to the group Americans for Citizen Voting, 11 states have adopted the "only citizens" alternative in their state constitutions.