As Election Day approaches, voters in Oklahoma are considering a ballot measure that would limit voting “only” to U.S. citizens, echoing a broader Republican effort to crack down on noncitizen voting, which is already rare.

Supporters of the proposed one-word change see the measure as a protection of the state constitution, but critics believe it will fuel falsehoods about non-citizen voting.

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

WATCH: Right-wing claims about election security and non-citizen voting are being fact-checked

In Oklahoma, as in other states, it is a crime to register to vote or cast a ballot if you are not a U.S. citizen.

Non-citizens found guilty of voting illegally face deportation and loss of legal status. Falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register to vote may result in deportation or denial of future immigration opportunities.

The state constitution has given only citizens the right to vote since its ratification 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,” Sen. Michael Bergstrom, the resolution’s author, said in May. The amendment does not target any specific group, proponents say.

“What we are doing is safeguarding the intent of the constitutional language going forward to avoid confusion, as the term ‘all’ is not exclusionary,” Bergstrom said. “We want to make the original intent of the Constitution absolutely clear,” he added.

Oklahoma Democratic Senator Michael Brooks, chairman of the Latino Caucus, said this is just another political ploy designed to sow disinformation.

“I think some of these political stunts are also there to increase resentment and rhetoric, but a lot of it is to intimidate people who live here and play by the rules,” Brooks said. “It’s a way to spread disinformation to a community that is welcome here and trying to build a life.”

During his campaign, former President Donald Trump repeatedly falsely claimed that noncitizen voting was widespread. Election integrity experts say there is no factual basis to support his claim.

There are eight states with these types of constitutional amendments on the ballot this year. Oklahoma would join other states such as Alabama, Louisiana, Colorado and Florida, which have taken similar measures to limit voting to “citizens only.”

While Oklahoma’s ballot measure would not change current state law, it would prevent any of the cities from allowing non-residents 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 small.”

Watch the discussion in the player above.

Reviews conducted by election officials in Ohio and Georgia found six and nine cases in which noncitizens voted in the past decade, he added.

“It doesn’t happen often,” Becker said during a live event on voting rights myths with the Knight Election Law Forum and the American Bar Association. “But what this does is set the stage that the election was subsequently stolen. They want to be able to raise these post-election arguments among his genuinely disappointed supporters if he loses and perhaps incite anger or division, donations or even violence in the post-election period.”

Americans for Citizen Voting is a national group pushing for “citizens only” legislation that determines who is an eligible voter. On its website, the organization says non-resident voting is currently taking place in the US in 19 different cities in four states, California, Maryland, Illinois and Vermont, as well as in Washington DC.

No city or town in Oklahoma allows non-residents to vote. In some American cities, non-residents are allowed to vote in local elections, such as elections for school boards or city council members.

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

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

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

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

“A lot of the political rhetoric and conspiracy theories are behind this,” Brooks said. “This is much more of a political stunt than a policy designed to improve the state of Oklahoma.”

Days before the election, CJ Garcia, an organizer with the immigrant advocacy group Dream Action Oklahoma, views every hateful post from Trump supporters on social media as another smear against her community.

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

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

Garcia helps lead conversations in her community to discuss the rights of noncitizens and undocumented people in Oklahoma, which has a Republican supermajority in the state Legislature that is pushing for more bills targeting undocumented people.

Garcia said she hasn’t heard anyone attending these events ask how they can vote before becoming citizens. Instead, most people are concerned about how to live their daily lives.

As Brooks continues to talk to community members about their concerns ahead of the next legislative session, he worries about the impact of what appears to be a simple change to the state constitution.

If Republicans will fight so hard to change one word, he said, what plans are next?

“There is a perception that immigration is threatening to people, even though we are a nation of immigrants,” he said, adding that a steady stream of immigrants coming to the U.S. makes the country — and the state of Oklahoma — strong.

“They start at the bottom and work their way up,” he said.