(The Center Square) – Citizenship in the United States by those voting in North Carolina is being sought in a constitutional amendment.

The proposal was filed Thursday by Rep. Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, chairman of the Rules Committee in the House of Representatives.

“Tightening our elections laws so that only U.S. citizens are voting in this country ensures that those making decisions about our country’s future have a vested interest in its well-being,” Hall said in a release. “Voting is a fundamental right and privilege reserved for citizens of the United States, and I am proud to support this effort to ensure the integrity of our elections.”

House Bill 1074 would amend Section 1 of Article VI of the North Carolina Constitution to read, in part, “Only a citizen of the United States who is …” Today, the section on who may vote begins, “Every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized …”

The proposal comes as American borders become more porous and people from dozens of countries around the world flood into the continental 48. Through government data, sourced reporting by The Center Square, and acknowledgments of lawmen and inclusion of gotaways, an estimated 11 million people have entered or are living in the country illegally since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.

In a release, House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, said, “Preventing noncitizens from voting in our elections also helps maintain national sovereignty, as it prevents foreign influence from affecting the outcomes of American elections, and this amendment to our constitution would further strengthen election integrity in North Carolina.”

A federal proposal requiring the count for apportionment in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Electoral College include only U.S. citizens earlier this month passed the House 206-202. The legislation was authored by U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., and had no Republicans against it and no Democrats for it.