WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Despite the fact that undocumented immigrants cannot legally vote in U.S. federal elections, Republicans have been pushing the baseless claim ahead of Election Day.
Former President Donald Trump has alleged numerous times without any evidence that Democrats are allowing noncitizens into the country so they can vote in the 2024 election.
“They can’t even speak English. They don’t even know what country they’re in, practically. And these people are trying to get them to vote, and that’s why they’re allowing them into our country,” Trump said during September’s presidential debate.
Since 1996, it has been a federal crime for undocumented immigrants to vote in federal elections. This includes noncitizens who have been granted the right to live in the U.S. permanently, also known as a legal permanent resident.
It is a crime under every state’s law and is considered a deportable offense.
When people register to vote, they must confirm that they are U.S. citizens. States are required to regularly maintain voter rolls and remove anyone who is ineligible. This process, by design, could identify immigrants who are living in the country illegally.
It is also illegal for noncitizens to vote in state and most local elections. However, in some municipalities in California, Maryland, Vermont and the District of Columbia noncitizens are allowed to vote in certain local races like for school board or city council.
In September, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) tried and failed to attach the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act to the government spending bill. The legislation would have required people to show proof of citizenship to register to vote.
The legislation passed the House over the summer but did not garner enough support in the Senate.
“If just a small percentage, a fraction of a fraction of all those illegals that Joe Biden has brought in here to vote, if they do vote, it wouldn’t just change one race,” Johnson said in July. “It might potentially change all of our races.”
Many Democrats opposed the SAVE Act and noted that it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote.
Despite Republican claims, studies in recent years have shown voting by noncitizens rarely happens.
In 2017, the Brennan Center for Justice looked at 42 jurisdictions in the 2016 election. It found that of the 23.5 million votes cast, there were about 30 cases of potential noncitizen voting that election officials referred for prosecution or further investigation.
Additionally, a 2022 audit of Georgia’s voter rolls found fewer than 2,000 instances of noncitizens attempting to register to vote over the last 25 years, none of which were successful.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.