Senator Donnie Chesteen (R-Geneva) announced today his sponsorship of the Natural Born Citizen Constitutional Amendment (SB 21) the cornerstone of Secretary of State Wes Allen’s legislative agenda for the upcoming session.
“I am excited to get this legislation passed and put the amendment on a ballot for a vote of the people. 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.”
Allen commended Chesteen for his work on this legislation and his passion for the bill’s purpose.
“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 explained. “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.”
Representative Rhett Marques (R-Enterprise) will carry the bill in the House of Representatives.
If passed by the Alabama House and Senate, the amendment would then be affirmed or rejected by a vote of the people on November 3, 2026.
Wes Allen is Alabama’s 54th Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is Alabama’s Chief Elections Official. Additionally, Alabama law gives the Secretary of State more than 1,000 different duties. To learn more about the Secretary of State and his responsibilities and duties visit www.sos.alabama.gov.
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*Secretary of State Wes Allen’s official photograph: https://www.sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/inline-images/AllenBioHighRes.jpg
