It swapped one word in the state constitution, "Every" for "Only a." Noncitizens already couldn't vote in South Carolina. Supporters wanted to make sure no town or court could ever allow it. Nothing changed for anyone who could already vote.
How it became law: the legislature passed it in May 2024 (only three senators voted no; the House vote was unanimous),5, 7 voters approved it in November 2024, and the legislature gave its required final approval in May 2026.4
"Must Section 4, Article II of the Constitution of this State, relating to voter qualifications, be amended so as to provide that only a citizen of the United States and of this State of the age of eighteen and upwards who is properly registered is entitled to vote as provided by law?"1
Should the state constitution say "only a citizen" can vote, instead of "every citizen" can vote?
Voting Yes = change "Every" to "Only a." Voting No = leave the wording as it is.
A state panel decides whether a ballot question gets a plain-language explanation. For this one, it decided not to. Attorney General Alan Wilson: "We're only changing two words, so we didn't feel it was needed."8
"What's the likelihood? ... Like, zero?"
Sen. Darrell Jackson (D), on SC courts ever allowing noncitizens to vote5
"With it already embedded in our state constitution that an elector is, by definition, a citizen, we don't need it to prevent that..."
Lynn Teague, League of Women Voters of SC7
"We lose our inclusion to guarantee that every citizen has a right to vote, unless, of course, they're disqualified by law."
Lynn Teague, League of Women Voters of SC7
"This isn't about where the South Carolina court is today but decades, maybe many decades, into the future, to make sure we never have such a decision."
Sen. Chip Campsen (R), co-sponsor5
"This is just an additional safeguard to ensure that somebody might not make the argument that non-citizens could vote in a South Carolina municipal election."
Attorney General Alan Wilson (R)8