Law Professor John J. Martin of Quinnipiac University has this essay, pointing out that Congress has no authority to set voter qualifications, even in federal elections. Article One lets Congress write laws on the “time, place and manner” of congressional elections. But those categories don’t include anything about voter eligibility. Therefore, the SAVE America bill recently passed by the U.S. House, mandating that only citizens can vote in federal elections, has no constitutional basis.

The article also points out that nineteen states let non-citizens vote during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Also currently 20 local governments allow non-citizens to vote in elections for their own officers.

On February 17, the Virginia House passed HB 630. It lets any local jurisdiction use ranked choice voting for elections for its own officers. The vote was 62-34. No Democrats voted “no” and no Republicans voted “yes.”

On February 10, the Libertarian Party national committee chose El Paso, Texas as the site for its 2028 presidential convention. There has never before been a presidential convention held in that city. The date is tentatively February 18-21, 2028. If confirmed, that will be the earliest presidential convention held by the Libertarian Party since the 1992 presidential election. Thanks to Independent Political Report for this news.

See this news story in the El Paso Times.