Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen announced Monday that two state lawmakers will be carrying a constitutional amendment that would require all elected state constitutional officers to be natural-born U.S. citizens.
The Natural Born Citizen Constitutional Amendment will be sponsored in the Senate by Senator Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, as Senate Bill 21. Additionally, Allen’s office announced that Representative Rhett Marques, R-Enterprise, has agreed to carry the bill in the House.
Allen’s office described the proposed amendment as “the cornerstone” of the secretary of state’s legislative agenda for 2026.
“Only natural-born U.S. citizens should be eligible to serve as constitutional officers in Alabama. This is an Alabama-first priority,” the secretary of state wrote in a Monday post on X.
“Senator Chesteen is as passionate about this legislation as I am. For the same reasons our founding fathers sought to ensure that our nation’s leader was a natural born American citizen, we believe the same standard must be required of those operating in the highest levels of our state government,” Allen said in a written statement.
“I am confident that the vast majority of Alabamians join us in wanting to strengthen our state Constitution to put Alabama first and to counteract any potential future influence from abroad,” he continued.
“When Wes Allen approached me with the idea of mandating that all of our state’s elected constitutional officers must be natural-born citizens of the United States, I told him that I wanted to work with him as the Senate Sponsor on this legislation and make this a part of Alabama’s Constitution,” Chesteen said.
“Most people believe that is already a requirement and so we should ensure that we make it a prerequisite for serving,” the senator added.
Current Alabama state law requires the governor and lieutenant governor to each be a U.S. citizen for 10 years before election. The attorney general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer and commissioner of agriculture and industries must all be citizens for seven years prior to election, while state lawmakers must be citizens for three years before their election.
The proposed amendment would mandate that, in Alabama, only an individual who is a natural-born U.S. citizen may serve as governor, lieutenant governor, an Alabama Supreme Court justice, a judge of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals or Court of Criminal Appeals, or a judge of a circuit court or district court.
It would also prohibit non-native citizens from serving as a member of the legislature, attorney general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, commissioner of agriculture and industries, a member of the State Board of Education, local sheriff, district attorney, circuit clerk, or constable.
While the U.S. Constitution requires the president and vice president to be natural-born citizens, no U.S. state has currently enacted an amendment or law requiring that state elected officials be born in the country.
If passed by the legislature during their 2026 session, the amendment must receive a majority vote of the people of Alabama on November 3, 2026, to be made part of Alabama’s constitution.
Allen is currently campaigning for the 2026 Alabama lieutenant governor election.
Meanwhile, Marques is seeking to replace U.S. Representative Barry Moore, R-Ala., as the representative for Alabama’s 1st Congressional District, following the announcement of Moore’s U.S. Senate campaign.
Marques has seen endorsements from Chesteen, alongside Alabama House Speaker Nathanial Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, nearly three dozen state lawmakers and U.S. Senator Katie Britt, R-Alabama.
