Alec Rodriguez 
EDINBURG – The passing of Proposition 16 during the Nov. 4 election will make it a constitutional amendment that establishes the ban on noncitizens from voting in Texas elections.
Previously, noncitizens were banned from voting as a statutory law, meaning all it would take to remove the language of the law was a majority vote from the Texas Legislature and the governor’s signature.
State Sen. Brian Birdwell made the proposal of Proposition 16, which states by ratifying it, a Future Legislature would need to have a two-thirds vote from each body and then approval of the citizens of Texas to repeal the ban on allowing noncitizens to vote as it would now be an amendment to the state’s constitution.
In a Nov. 5 email, Political Science Lecturer Michael Espinoza stated in his personal opinion, the proposition played into the “mistaken narrative” that voter fraud is common.
“The Texas GOP may want to be viewed as an ally to the administration in combating any perceived threat of non-citizens voting, which can also be viewed (if you support that notion) as protecting the vote in Texas,” Garza stated.
In a Nov. 18 interview, Espinoza said the state is saying it is doing its best to try to combat any perception of voter fraud, even though “there really isn’t any.”
Espinoza added voting fraud is very minor, such as people accidentally voting twice. He also adds the reason the clarification was possibly needed could have been because Texas wanted to match feudal guidelines.
Primary elections will be held March 3 for the 2026 midterm elections later that year.
