Texas Gov. Abbott Signs Resolution Barring Non-Citizens From Voting in Texas

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a resolution on May 26 that would amend the state constitution to allow only U.S. citizens to vote.

“I just signed off on a joint resolution to make it crystal clear under the Texas Constitution that if you are not a citizen of the United States of America, you are not allowed to vote in Texas,” Abbott said in a Facebook video posted May 26.

The resolution is part of SJR 37, introduced by Republican State Sen. Brian Birdwell, which seeks to amend Section 1(a), Article VI, of the Texas Constitution to clarify that “persons who are not citizens of the United States” are not allowed to vote in the state. The bill passed the state Senate in April and the House in May.

The amendment will be put to a vote on Nov. 4, 2025, through a ballot for Texan citizens.

The resolution aligns with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on March 25, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” which establishes changes to the U.S. election system, addressing weaknesses such as mass mail-in voting and other insecure voting methods, as well as citizenship verification, and requiring greater state and federal oversight of elections.

The executive order mandates that the Election Assistance Commission include the citizenship requirement on the national registration form.

According to 2024 Census Bureau data, Texas has a population of about 31 million. As of Oct. 19, 2024, 18.6 million registered voters were registered, according to Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson.

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Abbott said he had removed more than one million people from the state’s voter rolls, including those who had moved out of state, had died, or were not citizens.

“Election integrity is essential to our democracy,” Abbott said in an Aug. 23, 2024, statement. “Illegal voting in Texas will never be tolerated. We will continue to actively protect Texans’ sacred right to vote, while vigorously protecting our elections from illegal voting.”

The District of Columbia and certain municipalities in California, Maryland, and Vermont have passed laws allowing noncitizens to vote in some or all local elections. In 2024, eight states approved ballot measures prohibiting noncitizen voting.