Citizenship & Voting

Fact: States have multiple checks in place to ensure that only eligible citizens can vote.

Federal law dictates that  only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections. To register to vote, you must swear you’re a citizen under penalty of criminal prosecution. Election processes are full of checks to identify ineligible voter registrants. Under federal law, states are required to conduct regular list maintenance to remove ineligible voters from the rolls. Many states also participate in the Electronic Registration Information Center, which allows states to compare their voter rolls across state lines and ensure lists are accurate and up to date.

All voters’ names and addresses are recorded, and ineligible voters face severe penalties, such as jail time or deportation. A noncitizen working toward naturalization could be denied citizenship for merely being registered to vote. State-led investigations by Republican and Democratic officials have found almost no instances of noncitizen voting. Similarly, investigations by news organizations, law enforcement departments, and universities have found that noncitizen voting is extraordinarily rare. 

Rumor: Noncitizens are voting in federal elections.

With significant political attention on our domestic borders, false allegations that noncitizens are fraudulently casting ballots are circulating on social media. As voter list maintenance procedures are complicated and often boring, members of the public are generally unaware of the many procedures in place to keep our voter files accurate and up to date, as well as the safeguards that prevent noncitizens and other ineligible voters from registering and casting ballots. Bad actors are exploiting this education gap to spread false information and erode trust in the integrity of our elections.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Brennan Center For Justice (@brennancenter)