Alaska voters may consider a ballot proposition next year aimed at tightening the state’s citizenship voting requirements. That’s if an initiative currently circulating the state gets enough signatures to go before voters next year.
Last month, the state’s lieutenant governor approved a petition application from Alaskans for Citizen Voting. If voters approve the initiative, state law would change from saying U.S. citizens may vote in elections to saying only U.S. citizens may vote in them. The updated language would apply to state and local elections, a group spokesperson said.
Mike Chenault is one of the initiative’s three sponsors alongside former Sens. John Coghill and Josh Revak. The former Republican state representative from Nikiski holds the record for the longest-serving House speaker. And he says he wants to affirm Alaska’s current practice amid looser citizenship voting laws in other states.
“There's a pathway for noncitizens to be able to vote,” he said. “And when you come into the United States, we feel that people should follow the laws.”
Across the United States, election citizenship laws are patchwork. Federal law bars non-U.S. citizens from voting in federal elections. But rules vary for state and local elections. Last year, eight states amended their constitution to say that only citizens may vote, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Alaska law says someone may vote in a state election if, among other things, they’re a U.S. citizen.
Chenault and other petition proponents say the word “may” in that part of statute leaves too much ambiguity. That’s why they want state law to more clearly say only U.S. citizens may vote in Alaska elections.
“You never know what the courts are going to rule at any point in time on any issue, and if we have the ability to cut off that point in time where a judge someplace in Alaska has the ability to say whether we change our statutes or we change our voting laws, then, I think, … that you should take the initiative and go forward with it,” he said.
In a written opinion, Alaska's Attorney General said the proposal would not change existing voting requirements.
But Chenault pointed to an instance earlier this year where that clarity would have helped. In April, the state charged 10 American Samoans living in Whittier with voter misconduct after they voted in city or school board elections. Although American Samoa is a U.S. territory, most of its residents don’t have U.S. citizenship.
“We're not trying to keep immigrants or any other group of folks out of the election process, but we do have a process to become an American citizen and you go through that process, and after you're an American citizen, you gain the right to vote in American elections,” he said. “And we believe that's the direction that the state should go.”
Stephen Kirch is the public relations manager for the Alaska Division of Elections. He says the division cannot comment on active petitions circulating around the state, but that Alaska already requires people to affirm that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. Federal law precludes states from requiring citizenship documentation as a condition of voter registration, he said.
To get their proposal on next year’s ballot, Alaskans for Citizen Voting needs 34,000 signatures by the time the Alaska Legislature convenes next month. An initiative spokesperson was unable to provide the number of signatures collected so far, but said they’ve received a lot of support and expect to cross that threshold “well in advance” of the deadline.
State polling data also indicates support. An April 2025 poll of 616 likely Alaska voters found an overwhelming majority – 87% – say only U.S. citizens should vote in state elections. Fewer respondents – about 68% – said they would vote in favor of amending Alaska’s Constitution to that effect.
In October, Alaskans for Citizen Voting reported receiving around $55,000 to support their campaign efforts. Most of that’s come from the national chapter, Americans for Citizen Voting. State campaign data show the national chapter has contributed $20,000 in cash and another $30,000 worth of staff time to the Alaska group.
