Non-Citizen Voting Threatens to Upend the Election

• New data reveals that around one-quarter of non-citizens in the US may be eligible to vote

• House Republicans have tried and failed to pass proof-of-citizenship legislation

• States like Arizona and Oregon have neglected voting integrity policies, while Texas, Ohio, and several others have implemented some

The story

Back in May, a study by Just Facts estimated that as many as 2.7 million non-citizens could vote in the 2024 election, raising major concerns about the integrity of the results.

The study concluded that 10 to 27 percent of non-citizen adults in the US may be illegally registered to vote. With the US Census reporting over 19 million adult non-citizens in 2022, this translates to potentially millions of illegal votes, a number significant enough to overturn the will of the people.

The issue of election integrity has been on the rise since the 2020 election, when mail-in and early voting skyrocketed to 70 percent of all votes cast.

As the Biden administration has been fast-tracking citizenship for migrants, many of them are also immediately enrolled to vote through DMVs, websites like healthcare.gov, and non-governmental organizations.

Though the United States has outlawed non-citizens from voting in federal elections, proof of citizenship is not required to register to vote, thus potentially allowing millions to enroll illegally.

The politics

Republicans in the House of Representatives, spearheaded by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), have been trying to pass the “SAVE” Act which would require individuals to show proof of US citizenship to register to vote.

Although House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) initially planned to include the SAVE Act in a six-month government funding resolution, his newly unveiled three-month plan omits it. The House rejected his original proposal last week.

Democratic lawmakers have been staunchly against the SAVE Act, citing that non-citizen voting is extremely rare and, thus, it is unnecessary to ask for proof of citizenship.

However, a landmark 2014 study from the academic journal Electoral Studies found that, in the 2008 presidential election, 6.4 percent of non-citizens voted, with the overwhelming majority of them voting for Barack Obama.

What states are doing — or not doing — about it

The Oregon DMV admitted to mistakenly registering at least 306 non-citizens to vote since 2021, due to an automatic voter registration system linked to driver’s licenses and state IDs. Despite the error, Oregon’s Democratic secretary of state and governor defended the automatic registration program, claiming the issue will not impact the 2024 election.

The Arizona Supreme Court also ruled that nearly 98,000 voters, whose citizenship documentation had not been confirmed due to a database error, can still vote in state and local elections. The court emphasized the proximity of the November election and refused to disenfranchise the voters, most of whom are longtime state residents.

Meanwhile, there are five US states leading the charge to clear foreigners out of voter rolls. Ohio’s secretary of state has led efforts to eliminate illegal voter registrations in the state, particularly automatic voter registration systems the state sees as risky.

Several states have joined Ohio in removing non-citizens from voter rolls, such as Texas, which removed 6,500. Alabama removed over 3,000 non-citizens from its voter rolls, Virginia removed over 6,000, and Louisiana’s governor ordered an executive order to remove non-citizens just last month.

The handful of states taking the initiative in removing aliens from voter rolls appear to be in line with the opinions of Americans, a majority of whom are concerned about non-citizens voting illegally.

Why it matters

The growing concern over non-citizens potentially voting in US elections strikes at the core of election integrity.

With studies suggesting that potentially millions of illegal votes could sway key elections, the failure to enforce strict voter registration standards threatens to undermine the democratic process so often extolled by the very party fighting against bills such as the SAVE Act.

Some states are taking proactive steps to remove non-citizens from voter rolls, but the reluctance of others to enforce proof-of-citizenship requirements opens the door for further erosion of trust in the electoral system — an issue that resonates with many Americans who believe in protecting the value of their vote.