Tag Archives: noncitizens voting

This Doesn’t Make Sense

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It would seem to me that allowing only citizens to vote in American elections would be an obvious thing. Our government was established to represent the interests of Americans. I don’t believe there is a county in the world that allows non-citizens to vote.

On Friday, Breitbart reported:

A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s efforts to protect election integrity by requiring proof of United States citizenship on voter registration forms, finding that Trump “lacks the authority to direct such changes.”

In a decision by U.S. District Judge Collen Kollar-Kotelly on Friday, Kollar-Kotelly “sided with Democratic and civil rights groups that sued the Trump administration” after the President issued an executive order in March entitled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” according to the Associated Press.

Kollar-Kotelly, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, claimed in her decision that “the proof-of-citizenship directive is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers,” and argued that “on matters related to setting qualifications for voting and regulating federal election procedures,” the U.S. Constitution doesn’t give a “direct role to the President in either domain,” according to the outlet.

“Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes,” Kollar-Kotelly said.

The article concludes:

The order continues to note that “within 30 days of the date” of the executive order, the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) “shall take appropriate action to require, in its national mail voter registration form issued under 52 U.S.C. 20508” proof of U.S. Citizenship.

Kollar-Kotelly’s decision comes after she “agreed to partially grant a preliminary injunction sought by three different groups of plaintiffs” in April, according to CBS News.

In her block in April, Kollar-Kotelly prevented the Trump administration from moving forward with enacting “two provisions of the executive order,” according to the outlet.

Why would someone want non-citizens to vote in an election if not to cheat?

Yes, Virginia, Non-citizens Do Vote

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On Thursday, Just the News posted an article about the number of non-citizens voting in American elections.

The article reports:

The dual revelations that an illegal alien school administrator from Iowa made it onto the voter rolls in Maryland and that over 2,700 noncitizens escaped strict voter ID checks to qualify to vote in Texas are creating new momentum for creating a nationwide citizenship check system for elections.

“Many folks that come into my office will tell me, and anyone who will listen, this is the biggest issue in the country. Democrats don’t want tightly run elections,” Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told Just the News on Thursday night. “We all know that they want as much room for, you know, fraud, as humanly possible.”

“So right now, in many states, you can just check a box and say you’re a citizen, and that’s it. What we’re fighting for is we’re actually fighting that you as a citizen have to prove that you’re a citizen of this country if you’re going to vote in our election,” he said during an interview on the Just the News No Noise television show.

Crane and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, are spearheading a campaign to mandate proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration in upcoming federal elections.

The article concludes:

The notion and popularity of only lawful citizens voting in elections is not new.

In the late 1990s, Democrats, led by President Bill Clinton, firmly opposed non-citizen voting, which led to the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA). This law, passed with strong Democratic support (72-27 in the Senate, 370-37 in the House), criminalized non-citizen voting in federal elections, imposing fines, up to one year in prison, and deportation. Clinton framed it as a defense of legal residents and electoral integrity, reflecting the party’s unified stance that only citizens should vote in federal races.

Republicans have expressed identical sentiment in their fight to keep noncitizens off of voter rolls.

Using a Real ID would be a step in fighting this problem, although you can get a Real ID if you have a Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) if you are a non-U.S. citizen. I suspect that very few of the people who are illegally voting in our elections have green cards. Using Real ID as voter identification might be a step in the right direction.

Stopping Illegal Votes Before They Start

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On Friday, The Texas Scorecard posted an article about the efforts being made in Texas to ensure the integrity of the election vote.

The article reports:

In a major reversal from her guidance just days ago, Secretary of State Jane Nelson now says non-citizen driver’s licenses may not be used as a form of voter identification.

The Texas Department of Public Safety issues driver’s licenses and personal identification cards to lawfully present noncitizens, which are clearly marked “Temporary Visitor” or “Limited-Term” and expire after one year or when the individual’s period of lawful presence ends.

An advisory from the Secretary of State issued Tuesday afternoon stated that while citizens should not use these types of IDs to vote, poll workers should nonetheless offer a regular ballot to people on the voter rolls who present a noncitizen ID. This contrasts with previous guidance from the Secretary of State’s office in 2018, which specifically stated that DPS-issued driver’s licenses and personal identification cards “should not be used if ‘Limited Term’ or ‘Temporary Visitor’ appears on the face of the card, as this indicates the person is not a U.S. Citizen.”

Instead, voters with such IDs were urged to show other forms of identification, including naturalization certificates or passports.

The article concludes:

“Secretary of State Nelson did the right thing,” said Paxton. “Her amended election advisory closes a potential loophole that could have allowed noncitizens to attempt to vote. Texas must do everything in its power to prevent noncitizens from voting, and this is a critical step toward securing our elections.”

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy reported Thursday evening that, according to DPS, 2,824,613 noncitizens have driver’s licenses or IDs issued by the state.

Preemptive measures are the only way to ensure election integrity in November.

Why Is The Justice Department Wasting Their Time On This?

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On July 5, ABC News reported that the Justice Department is suing the State of Arizona over a recently passed state law that requires voters to present proof of citizenship in order to vote in presidential elections.

The article reports:

The Justice Department has filed suit against Arizona challenging its recently enacted voting law that requires proof of citizenship in order to vote in presidential elections.

The lawsuit contends that certain restrictions in Arizona’s House Bill 2492 directly violate Section 6 of the National Voter Registration Act and Section 101 of the Civil Rights Act.

The Supreme Court previously rejected an effort by Arizona in 2013 to require its residents to provide proof of citizenship in order to participate in federal elections, though after President Joe Biden’s victory against Donald Trump in 2020 the state quickly sought to implement a similar mandate in passing House Bill 2492.

“Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement Tuesday announcing the lawsuit.

Gov. Doug Ducey signed the bill into law on March 30.

The article concludes:

In a press release, the Justice Department notes the new law with violate the Civil Rights Act “by requiring election officials to reject voter registration forms based on errors or omissions that are not material to establishing a voter’s eligibility to cast a ballot.”

Arizona requires voters to prove they are a U.S. citizen when they register to vote — the only state to do so — by providing a government-issued identification, like a driver’s license, tribal ID or passport. The 2013 Supreme Court ruling allowed the requirement for state elections, but Arizona cannot require proof of citizenship for federal elections, like president.

Arizona is one of the states where Trump has falsely contended he won in 2020. Biden defeated Trump by about 10,000 votes. A GOP-led review of the vote tally in Maricopa County, the state’s largest, reaffirmed Biden’s victory, and even increased his lead by a slight amount.

Actually, the review of the vote tally simply recounted what was already counted. The chain-of-custody for the ballots was not available and there were some serious questions about deletions made during updates on the computers and information not retained on the computers involved that was legally required to be retained. Nothing discovered in the investigation into Arizona’s 2020 election indicates that everything was above board.

Why would the Justice Department be fighting a law that required proof of citizenship to vote in a presidential election?

According to the U.S. Constitution (article here):

Amendment 15 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Amendment 19 The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Amendment 24 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

(For a history of why the 24th Amendment only applies to federal elections, see here).

Amendment 26 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

Note that all of the above applies to citizens. It has always been understood that non-citizens did not have the right to vote in federal elections.

Limiting Voting To Legal Voters

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The idea of only American citizens being allowed to vote in American elections is pretty basic. You wouldn’t think there would be a lot of room for discussion (or lawsuits). You would be wrong.

Yesterday Breitbart reported that the Fourth Circuit federal appeals court has ruled against the North Carolina State Board of Elections, vacating a lower court’s decision blocking the inspection of the state’s voter rolls for non-citizen registrations and voting.

The article reports:

“North Carolina had tried to prevent the public from inspecting records related to noncitizens registering and voting in our elections,” PILF (Public Interest Legal Foundation) President J. Christian Adams said in a statement.

“Federal law presumes that election records are public,” Adams said. “The Fourth Circuit vacated the lower court’s dismissal of the case. This is an important win because it means that the public’s right to know about election vulnerabilities has been vindicated.”

The Richmond-based appeals court concluded “that the Board’s efforts in the present case to identify non-citizen registrants qualify as a ‘program’ or ‘activity’ to ensure an accurate list of eligible voters.”

In June 2019, PILF filed the lawsuit against North Carolina election officials after they failed to disclose voter roll records showing non-citizen registrations and voting. A lower court, though, dismissed PILF’s lawsuit claiming such records could not be disclosed to the public.

The article concludes:

While PILF will now go back to court to negotiate over the records, this is the third win for PILF on protecting the right to inspect state voter rolls for non-citizen registrations and voting since 2019.

In March 2019, a Texas court ruled that PILF could move forward with seeking non-citizen voting records in Harris County, Texas. Then, in December 2019, a federal court similarly ruled that PILF could continue seeking non-citizen voting records in Pennsylvania.

North Carolina has a history of concealing non-citizen voting. In November 2019, for instance, Gov. Roy Cooper (D) vetoed legislation that would have purged self-admitted non-citizen voters from the state’s voter rolls ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The case is Public Interest Legal Foundation v. North Carolina State Board of Elections, 19-2265 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Every American should support the idea of only legal voters voting. Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a legal voter.

What Does The Law Actually Say?

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According to the Legal Resource Library, these are the requirements to vote in a federal election in America:

  • You are a U.S. citizen (either by birth or naturalization)
  • You meet your state’s residency requirements
  • You are 18 year old. (Some states allow 17-year-olds to vote in primaries or register to vote if they will be 18 before the general election).
You must be legally registered to vote in your jurisdiction in order to be able to vote in federal elections. State laws vary on voter requirements.

The U.S. Constitution gives citizens have the right to vote in elections. It does not give that right to non-citizens.

The following video was posted on YouTube on November 6:

This is the response to that video from Senator Jeff Sessions:

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) issued the following statement after President Obama‘s comments on illegal immigrants voting in U.S. elections:  

“I am shocked that the President of the United States—who is the chief law enforcement officer for the nation and to whom all federal law enforcement officers report—failed to strongly and immediately object to a statement by an interviewer that unlawful immigrants can and should vote in U.S. elections. The interviewer proposed a radical and illegal action, which the President had a duty to condemn.

The President must immediately issue a statement to make crystal clear that only citizens of the United States have the right to vote, and that any noncitizen who votes, and anyone who assists noncitizens to vote, does so illegally and is subject to prosecution. The failure to clarify this statement will only add further credibility to the public’s concerns about the integrity of this election.” 

For those of you who may argue that President Obama was not referring to illegal aliens, why then was he discussing the fear of being deported? American citizens do not have to fear deportation.