by Caroline Yaffa

 

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – Early voting has begun and this year South Carolina voters will decide whether to change one word in the state’s constitution.

 

Right now, the state constitution says “every” citizen of the state or country can vote in elections.

 

The general assembly voted to add a question to the ballot asking if voters want to change the word “every” to “only.”

 

One of the people behind the amendment is Senator Josh Kimbrell (R) who sponsored the bill that added the ballot question.

 

Kimbrell said in a news conference explaining the addition to the ballot that voting “yes” to this would keep South Carolina from being open to lawsuits by groups he claimed are pushing non-citizens to vote.

 

“Let’s be clear. Right now, it is illegal in South Carolina to vote if you are not a citizen of the United States of America or of this state. That being said, we’ve had multiple court challenges across the United States in multiple jurisdictions where some courts have upheld that municipal governments or school boards can extend the right to vote to those who are not legally in this country,” Kimbrell said.

 

Lynn Teague, the vice president of the League of Women Voters in South Carolina, said the change may be harmful to legal citizen voters.

 

She clarified that they do not have a problem with the requirements that are already in place, but they do not want to change anything in the constitution.

 

She said it will be more redundant and could possibly exclude genuine qualified citizens from voting.

 

Similar questions will be on the ballot eight states this election, including North Carolina.