Amendment 1: Citizenship Requirement to Vote in West Virginia Elections Amendment
Statewide — all of West Virginia
General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Legislatively referred constitutional amendment (Senate Joint Resolution 9, 2026 regular session). Lead sponsor was Sen. Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson); West Virginia Watch reports the Senate and House of Delegates both approved it unanimously. Secretary of State Kris Warner issued the required public notice on July 23, 2026; West Virginia Watch reports Warner's office does not take a formal position on ballot issues.[1][2]
The question on the ballot
Amendment No. 1: Citizenship Requirement to Vote in West Virginia Elections Amendment Summary of Purpose: This amendment provides that in all elections held in West Virginia only citizens of the United States who are citizens of this state are qualified to vote.[3][2]
Per the Secretary of State's public notice, the amendment revises Section 1 of Article IV so that only citizens of the United States who are citizens of this state are entitled to vote at all elections held within the counties where they reside; the existing disqualifications for minors, persons declared mentally incompetent, persons convicted of treason, felony or bribery in an election, and non-residents of 30 days, and the rule for military personnel, are retained. The Secretary of State's office says election law already requires U.S. citizenship to register and that the current constitutional section specifies state citizenship but does not expressly require U.S. citizenship. The materials reviewed do not state a fiscal impact.[2][4]
A YES vote means
Writes into Article IV, Section 1 of the West Virginia Constitution that only U.S. citizens who are citizens of West Virginia are entitled to vote in all elections held in the state's counties.
A NO vote means
Leaves Article IV, Section 1 as is: it specifies state citizenship but does not expressly require U.S. citizenship, though state election law already requires U.S. citizenship to register to vote.
The law today
Per the Secretary of State's office: under the current West Virginia Constitution, Article IV, Section 1 provides that "the citizens of the state" are entitled to vote in elections held within the counties where they reside; it does not expressly state that a voter must be a citizen of the United States. West Virginia election law already requires a person to be a United States citizen to register to vote.[5]
Arguments made for
- Sen. Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson), lead sponsor of SJR 9, told reporters: "West Virginia already has in code that only citizens can vote in elections, but that isn’t enough," and added: "That’s law. Law can change, as we know. Every legislative session we have, we can change law."[1]
- Sen. Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson), lead sponsor: "This proposed amendment would ensure that no future Legislature could just simply change the election law with only a bill. It also gives us greater authority to enforce the law we currently have in place."[1]
- Jack Tomczak, vice president of outreach, Americans for Citizen Voting: "In every state, it has passed with overwhelming support, and we anticipate that again here in West Virginia."[1]
Arguments made against
- Julie Archer, a representative of the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, wrote to West Virginia Watch: "This unnecessary amendment perpetuates long-debunked conspiracy theories and scapegoats our immigrant neighbors to sow mistrust in our election results."[1]
- League of Women Voters of West Virginia: "The amendment is unnecessary and serves dubious purposes." and "State and federal law already dictate that only U.S. citizens can vote in our elections."[6]
- Julie Archer, West Virginia Citizen Action Group: "West Virginia's election process already includes strong safeguards to ensure only eligible citizens vote."[1]
On record in support
- Sen. Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson), lead sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 9, who spoke in support at a September 15, 2026 press event[1]
- Americans for Citizen Voting, an organization that works to pass citizen-only voting amendments in states (its vice president for outreach, Jack Tomczak, spoke in support at the same event)[1]
- Twelve other Republican state senators who co-sponsored SJR 9, including Senate President Randy Smith; the Senate and House of Delegates both approved it unanimously[1]
Research notes & limits
Ballot title and summary of purpose are from the state-hosted Upshur County sample ballot and match the Secretary of State's public notice. Passage requires a majority of votes cast (per the Secretary of State). The League of Women Voters of West Virginia also opposes the measure and calls it 'completely unnecessary' (reported by West Virginia Watch); its own statement was not retrieved. Supporters beyond the sponsor (Americans for Citizen Voting) appeared at the press event; no registered campaign committee was identified. West Virginia has no other statewide measure on the Nov. 3 ballot per the Secretary of State's notices; Ballotpedia's WV page was blocked by its bot protection and was not used. Added October 19, 2026: current law is from the Secretary of State's explanatory release. No fiscal note was located and no registered ballot-issue committee or campaign-finance totals were found for either side, so fiscalImpact and campaignFinance are omitted. The Secretary of State's own text appears in the public notice. The Secretary of State's office does not take a formal position, so it is not listed as a supporter. The supporter and opponent lists are those shown at the cited press events and releases and are not exhaustive; the West Virginia Legislature's bill-status page for SJR 9 could not be retrieved for the official vote record.
Sources · 6
Researched 2026-10-19. Green citations are official government records.
- 1.WV voters will decide on proposed citizen-only voting constitutional amendment in November · West Virginia Watch · 2026-09-15 News report
- 2.Secretary Warner issues a Public Notice of a proposed Amendment to the West Virginia Constitution that will appear on the November 3rd General Election Ballot · West Virginia Secretary of State · 2026-07-23 Official record
- 3.Official Ballot, November 3, 2026 General Election, Upshur County, WV (sample ballot) · West Virginia Secretary of State (county sample ballots) Official record
- 4.West Virginia amendment would put existing U.S. citizenship rule in constitution · My Buckhannon (Secretary of State news release) · 2026-10-16 News report
- 5.Kris Warner clarifies the WV Secretary of State's role in proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot · West Virginia Secretary of State · 2026-10-01 Official record
- 6.League of Women Voters of West Virginia Opposes Amendment One (press release) · League of Women Voters of West Virginia · 2026-09-16 Candidate's own words