West Virginia Senate Bill SJR9

West Virginia 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/14/26
• Refer: 1/14/26
• Report Pass: 2/27/26
• Engrossed: 3/3/26
• Refer: 3/5/26
• Enrolled: 3/13/26
• Passed: 3/13/26

Caption

Citizenship Requirement to Vote in West Virginia Elections Amendment

Summary

SJR9 proposes a constitutional amendment to West Virginia’s elections article that would limit voting in all elections held in the state to U.S. citizens who are also citizens of West Virginia. The resolution places the proposed amendment before voters at the next general election in 2026 and assigns it the ballot title “Citizenship Requirement to Vote in West Virginia Elections Amendment.” The amendment would revise the state constitution’s voter-qualification language to make citizenship an explicit requirement for voting, while retaining existing disqualifications for minors, persons declared mentally incompetent by a court, persons convicted of treason, felony, or election bribery, and those who have not met the 30-day residency requirement. It also keeps the rule that military personnel stationed in West Virginia are not automatically considered state residents for voting purposes.

Impact

If approved by voters, the measure would change the West Virginia Constitution and make citizenship a direct constitutional qualification for voting in state elections. It would affect election administration, voter eligibility determinations, and any state or local election laws that implement constitutional voting requirements, but it does not itself create a new statutory enforcement scheme beyond the constitutional change.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have broad legislative support and little recorded opposition. It passed the Senate unanimously on its initial vote and again unanimously on final Senate adoption, and it passed the House by large margins, though one House vote on the previous-question motion showed more division. Overall, the voting history suggests the proposal was generally well received by lawmakers.

Contention

The main policy issue is the scope of voter eligibility and whether citizenship should be expressly embedded in the state constitution as a voting requirement. Supporters appear to favor clarifying and tightening the constitutional language around who may vote, while any opposition likely centers on the need for the amendment and the implications of excluding noncitizen residents from participation in elections. The available record does not include committee testimony, so specific arguments from either side are not documented here.