North Gwinnett News

Michael Lancaster, Georgia director for Americans for Citizen Voting (ACV), criticized Georgia state Rep. Jasmine Clark's stance on HR 780, a resolution aimed at amending the constitution to clarify that only U.S. citizens can vote in state and local elections. Lancaster accused Clark of "not standing up for her constituents" due to her continued opposition to the resolution. Polls indicate that 80% of Georgians support such an amendment, despite pending legislation in several jurisdictions that would permit non-citizens to vote in certain elections.

"Representative Clark is not standing up for her constituents," said Lancaster, Georgia State Director. "In her public comments, she continues to intentionally distort the purpose of the Citizen-Only Voting Amendment. Her failure to support the resolution leaves the people of her district vulnerable to the whims of activist judges, and her efforts to obfuscate the issue seem to be a deliberate ploy to confuse her voters in order to protect her political career."

HR 780 and its Senate companion, SR 454, proposed an amendment to Georgia’s constitution specifying that only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in state and local elections. To appear on November’s ballot, HR 780 required two-thirds support from both houses of the Georgia legislature. However, it failed with 98 votes in favor — including just two Democrats, Reps. Mack Jackson and Patty Stinson — offset by 61 votes against, four abstentions, and 17 excused members as per the records on the Georgia General Assembly's website.

Clark was among those who voted against the resolution. In a Facebook post explaining her decision, Clark wrote: "To be clear, the Georgia Constitution (and US Constitution) already state that only citizens can vote. The bill they are referring to is a bill that would change the word 'Every' to 'Only.' It’s a silly bill that changes absolutely nothing but is being used to spread hateful lies about immigrants. I won’t take part in that."

As reported by RedState via an Atlanta 11 Alive excerpt from 2016, the Clarkston City Council unanimously voted in favor of studying the possibility of allowing non-U.S. citizen residents to vote in city government elections. Then-Mayor Ted Terry argued denying non-U.S. citizens voting rights deprived them of representation and hindered their ability to fully "participate in their democracy." However, then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp disagreed, saying, "I think people have a lot of different opinions about who they might want to vote, but that has nothing to do with what the Constitution and the current laws on the books in the states say."

A 2022 poll commissioned by Americans for Citizen Voting and conducted by Remington Research Group revealed that 80 percent of likely Georgia voters believed only U.S. citizens should have the right to vote in Georgia elections. Furthermore, 80 percent supported an amendment to the Georgia State Constitution establishing that only U.S. citizens can vote in state and local elections. Additionally, 66 percent indicated that Clarkston's move to open up voting to non-citizens made them more likely to support a citizens-only voting amendment.

According to the ACV website, Lancaster serves as the Georgia director for Americans for Citizen Voting. The organization advocates for states amending their constitutions to explicitly state that only citizens can vote.