Amending the Constitution to prohibit persons not United States citizens from voting in any election held within this state
HJR 13 proposes amending the West Virginia Constitution to prohibit non-U.S. citizens from voting in any state election. It directly affects non-citizen residents who currently participate in West Virginia elections. The bill would add a new provision to Article IV of the state constitution explicitly stating that "no person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be entitled to vote at any election held within this state." This is a constitutional amendment requiring voter approval at the next general election, not an immediate law.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 13, 2025
Last action Feb 18, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced Version
→
Committee Substitute
·
5 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended from its introduced version to a committee substitute version, primarily changing formatting and procedural details while maintaining the same core purpose of prohibiting non-citizen voting. The committee version corrects the election year from 2024 to 2026, updates the sponsor list formatting, and adds committee reporting information.
Scope change
The substantive scope of the amendment remains unchanged - it still proposes to prohibit non-citizens from voting in West Virginia elections. The only scope-related change is the election year being moved from 2024 to 2026.
TIMELINE
The proposed amendment's submission to voters was changed from the 2024 general election to the 2026 general election.
TECHNICAL
The sponsor list was reformatted with all names in uppercase letters for consistency.
Added committee reporting information showing the bill was reported from the Committee on the Judiciary then Rules on February 18, 2025.
Added 'for' after 'Committee Substitute' to clarify the relationship between versions.
Changed 'he' to 'he or she' in the voting eligibility language to use gender-neutral language.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
6
Key actions
1
Committee
4
Feb 18, 2025
Committee
To House Rules
lower
Feb 18, 2025
Lower · Passed
By substitute, do pass, but first to Rules
lower
Feb 13, 2025
Committee
To House Judiciary
lower
Feb 13, 2025
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Feb 13, 2025
Committee
To Judiciary
lower
1 primary · 9 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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