As Election Day approaches, Oklahoma voters are considering a ballot measure that would limit voting to “only” U.S. citizens, reflecting a broader Republican effort to combat already rare voting by non-citizens.

Supporters of the proposed one-word amendment view the measure as a protection of the state constitution, but critics believe it will fuel falsehoods about noncitizens’ right to vote.

State Question 834 would amend Section 1 of Article III to change “all citizens of the United States” to “only citizens of the United States eligible to vote.”

REGARD: Examining right-wing claims about election security and non-citizen voting

As in other states, it is a felony in Oklahoma to register to vote or vote as a non-U.S. citizen.

Noncitizens found guilty of illegal voting face deportation and loss of legal status. Falsely claiming U.S. citizenship when registering to vote may result in deportation or denial of future immigration opportunities.

The state constitution has granted only citizens the right to vote since it was ratified in 1907, and voters reaffirmed this constitutional amendment in 1978.

The new resolution “changes one word, and really just one thing, in the Oklahoma Constitution,” state Sen. Michael Bergstrom, the resolution’s author, said in May. The amendment does not single out any specific group, supporters say.

“What we’re doing is preserving the intent of the constitutional language going forward to avoid confusion because the term ‘all’ is not exclusive,” Bergstrom said. “We want to make clear the original intent of the Constitution,” he added.

Oklahoma Democratic Sen. Michael Brooks, chairman of the Latino Caucus, said this was just another political ploy aimed at spreading misinformation.

“I think as much as some of these political stunts are designed to increase resentment and rhetoric, a lot of them are also designed to intimidate people who live here and play by the rules,” Brooks said. “It’s a way to spread misinformation to a community that is welcome here and trying to make a life here.”

During the campaign, former President Donald Trump repeatedly made the false claim that non-citizen voting was widespread. Election integrity experts say there is no factual basis for his claim.

This year, eight states have such a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Oklahoma would join other states such as Alabama, Louisiana, Colorado and Florida that have taken similar measures to limit voting to “citizens only.”

While Oklahoma’s ballot measure would not change current state law, it would prevent one of its cities from allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections.

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said the number of non-citizens voting in U.S. elections is “extremely low.”

Watch the discussion in the player above.

Research conducted by election officials in Ohio and Georgia found six and nine cases of noncitizens voting, respectively, in the last decade, he added.

“This doesn’t happen very often,” Becker said during a live event on voting rights myths with the Knight Election Law Forum and the American Bar Association. “But this creates the impression that the election was stolen after the fact. They want to be able to make these post-election arguments to his genuinely disappointed supporters if he loses, potentially fomenting anger or division, donations or even violence in the post-election period.”

Americans for Citizen Voting is a nationwide group that advocates for “citizens-only” legislation that defines who is eligible to vote. On its website, the organization states that in the United States, non-citizen voting is currently taking place in 19 different cities in the four states of California, Maryland, Illinois and Vermont, as well as in Washington DC

No city or town in Oklahoma allows non-citizens to vote. Some U.S. cities allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, such as school board or city council elections.

The organization acknowledges that while federal law already prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections, measures like Oklahoma’s SQ 834 would further protect state and local elections by making it explicitly clear that they also “only” apply to U.S. citizens are.

Jack Tomczak, a spokesman for Americans for Citizen Voting, said that even though Oklahoma has shown no signs of allowing non-citizens to vote, he believes the ballot measure is justified to secure elections in the future.

“People can see what’s happening in these other states,” he said. “They don’t want what’s happening in other places to happen in Oklahoma.”

But for Brooks, the measure is unnecessary and an “unfortunate sign” that state lawmakers will use the plight of undocumented people in the state to score further political points.

“There’s a lot of political rhetoric and conspiracy theories behind this,” Brooks said. “This is more of a political ploy than a policy aimed at improving the state of Oklahoma.”

Days before the election, CJ Garcia, an organizer with the immigrant advocacy group Dream Action Oklahoma, sees every hateful post from Trump supporters on social media as another insult to their community.

“It’s just another ploy to divide us,” they said. “It’s a political ploy to say, ‘Look at what this community is doing now.’ It’s just not true.”

According to the American Immigration Council, Oklahoma is home to nearly 69,000 undocumented immigrants who pay more than $200 million annually in federal, state and local taxes.

Garcia is helping lead conversations in her community to discuss the rights of non-citizens and undocumented people in Oklahoma, where a Republican majority in the state legislature is pushing for more bills targeting the undocumented.

Garcia said they had never asked anyone at these events how to vote before becoming citizens. Instead, most people are concerned with organizing their everyday lives.

As Brooks continues to speak with community members about their concerns heading into the next legislative session, he worries about the impact of a seemingly simple change to the state constitution.

If Republicans were going to fight so hard to change a word, what plans were next, he said?

“There is a sense that immigration is a threat to people, even though we are a nation of immigrants,” he said, adding that a steady flow of immigrants to the U.S. keeps the country — and the state of Oklahoma — strong .

“You’re going to start at the bottom and work your way up,” he said.