Does citizenship matter anymore? If not, neither does voting

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) recently revealed that a software error in the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission registered roughly 6,600 noncitizens to vote after they answered “no” when asked whether they were U.S. citizens. About 400 ultimately cast ballots before the mistake was discovered.No explanation was given by the governor as to why these mistaken registrations were also assigned party affiliations or whether one party received more accidental voters than the other.The fault clearly lies with the government, not the noncitizens who accidentally committed voter fraud. Some of these noncitizens will undoubtedly apply to become U.S. citizens in the future, where they will be asked whether they have ever voted in the United States. Being illegally registered to vote and voting illegally can jeopardize a citizenship application. New Jersey’s software error just made the lives of those 400 people more difficult and more expensive. Some will be able to navigate the problem the state government created. Some will not. Many people on both sides of the aisle will use this story to argue either that Congress must pass the SAVE America Act because noncitizens are ending up on the voter rolls or that the mistake was caught before it could affect an election and proves the current system already works. They can have that debate. My question is a different one: Does American citizenship still mean anything?The software glitch can be fixed. What worries me is that we’re slowly treating citizenship as if it’s just another box to check on a government form.As a nation, we are losing the value of our citizenship.In 2011, only three states allowed illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. Today, 19 states do. There are practical reasons for this. If someone is going to be driving on public roads anyway, it’s better for everyone if they know what they’re doing. If someone has a driver’s license, they’re legally required to carry insurance, and that’s good for anyone who ends up in a car crash with them.Slowly but surely, the Overton Window shifted. What was once controversial is now considered reasonable and practical by much of the public.The same thing is happening with voting.In 2011, four municipalities in Maryland allowed noncitizens to vote in local elections. Today, 24 cities across four states, including Washington, D.C., allow some form of noncitizen voting in local elections. New York City passed a law allowing noncitizen voting in 2021 before it was struck down by the courts. Connecticut lawmakers introduced legislation in 2023 that would have allowed noncitizens to vote in state and federal elections. The New York Legislature has repeatedly considered similar legislation for more than two decades.Why not?If noncitizens are going to live here anyway, isn’t it only fair that they have a say in how things are run? If they have children in the public schools, shouldn’t they get a vote in how those schools are governed? New Jersey has nearly 1 million noncitizen residents. Isn’t it only fair that they have representation at city hall or in the state legislature?That’s how the conversation changes. It starts with exceptions, moves to arguments about fairness, and eventually becomes the new normal.In a few years, people may look at you like you’re the unreasonable one for suggesting that only U.S. citizens should enjoy one of the defining privileges of American citizenship.Citizenship has always meant more than simply living here. It’s a membership in the American political community. Citizens vote because citizens are ultimately responsible for the future of the country. If voting isn’t tied to citizenship anymore, then what exactly is citizenship for?We are drifting toward a point where American citizenship means less and less. That’s not fair to those of us lucky enough to be born here who have skin in the game. It’s not fair to immigrants who followed the rules, endured years of paperwork, and earned their citizenship. And it’s certainly not fair to the noncitizens who find themselves caught in legal trouble because of a government mistake.NO VACATION, NO EXCUSES: THE 82% WINNER SITTING ON THE SENATE FLOORThe New Jersey Legislature should follow the lead of the 15 states that have amended their constitutions since 2018 to require that voters in local, state, and federal elections be citizens of the U.S.If we don’t preserve the rights and responsibilities that come with citizenship, we shouldn’t be surprised when citizenship itself stops meaning much at all.Jack Tomczak is the vice president of Outreach for Americans for Citizen Voting, a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to citizen-only voting.