October 4 :
Some see the eight states that have asked to make it unlawful for noncitizens to vote as part of a plot by Donald Trump and his Republican allies to overturn the presidential election results in the event that he suffers a second defeat on November 5. Of these states, two are likely to have a significant impact on the outcome of the election. These initiatives aim to change state constitutions and will be on the ballot in November. The Republican Party nominee, Trump, claims that votes cast by noncitizens can distort the results of the election.
If passed by a simple majority of voters, the only modification that would be made to state constitutions would be to make it clear that only citizens are allowed to vote. However, detractors argue that this amendment will not have much of an impact because noncitizens are already illegal to vote in those places. In November, the measures will be up for vote in North Carolina and Wisconsin, two states that lean Republican, and in South Carolina, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, and Oklahoma, all of which are solidly Republican states.
Proponents of the measures argue that they respond to voter concerns that were sparked by the finding of small numbers of probable noncitizens on voter lists in some states and record levels of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border while Democratic President Joe Biden was in office. Democracy activists and independent political experts point out that noncitizens cannot vote in federal elections in the United States and blame former president Trump's baseless accusations of fraud for any waning faith in the system.
The planned changes are the most recent blow in a campaign that has seen the Republican majority in the House of Representatives try to pass a measure mandating that citizens present evidence of citizenship in order to register to vote and at least eight lawsuits challenging the procedures for registering to vote. Chair of the North Carolina Republican Party Jason Simmons stated, "Individuals across the state are concerned with the electoral process, and they want to make sure that the votes counted are legal votes.".
Trump has long sought to undermine faith in American elections, and his actions reflect that effort, according to Democrats and even some Republicans. "For the last four years, you've had the loser of the last presidential election arguing that the election was fraudulent, and 70% of Republicans believe it," stated Republican pollster Whit Ayres, who has worked for a variety of party leaders, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham, and others.
San Francisco and Washington, D.C., two Democratic strongholds, are among the seventeen U.S. localities that permit lawful noncitizens to vote in local elections but not federal ones. Voters in Santa Ana, California, a city with a Democratic mayor, will decide this year whether or not noncitizens can cast ballots in local elections.
Republican state officials in charge of elections in Georgia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have all agreed with independent studies that demonstrate the rarity of illegal noncitizen voting. "The evidence shows that this just really isn't a concern," stated Hannah Alarian, a professor of political science at the University of Florida. "It's not an issue really prevalent at all."
Beginning with the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump has made claims regarding noncitizen voters. In that election, Trump triumphed by amassing more Electoral College votes than his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton did nationally, but he incorrectly blamed the low national popular vote total on the illegal voting of millions of noncitizens.He has continued along that line of thinking, asserting without evidence that Democrats are pushing for illegal immigration so that more people can cast ballots.
"A lot of these illegal immigrants coming in, they're trying to get them to vote," Trump stated during his debate with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on September 11. "And that's why they're allowing them to come into our country." When the 2024 election results are presented to Congress on January 6, Republicans have cited the conspiracy claim and other unproven accusations of cheating to justify their readiness to certify a possible loss for Trump.
“The lies being spread by Trump... about noncitizen voting have been repeatedly debunked,” stated U.S. Representative Joseph Morelle, senior Democrat on a House committee that supervises elections, in a recent MSNBC opinion article. In an obvious effort to sow voter fear and lay the groundwork for fraudulent allegations of election fraud in November, they have continued.
