During the current election campaign, fake news has circulated claiming that undocumented immigrants and a great many people are voting illegally. These claims have been seriously investigated and denied from various fronts. For example, the nonpartisan law and policy institute Brennan Center demonstrated that headlines claiming that “many undocumented immigrants vote illegally” are actually false.
It is possible that this occurs, but not because of a widespread fraud scheme, but rather due to administrative errors. In any case, if it does occur, the number of cases is small. According to a study by the aforementioned center, following an analysis of 42 jurisdictions with a high population of non-citizens, only 30 cases of alleged non-citizen voting—out of 23.5 million votes counted—were substantiated and referred for further investigation or prosecution, representing 0.0001 percent of all votes. When filling out a federal registration form, the law requires the applicant to swear under penalty of perjury that they are a U.S. citizen. However, undocumented immigrants may accidentally register to vote in cases such as the following: Some states, such as California, Colorado, and Illinois, among others, issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants. When they visit the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), they are asked to check a box to register, and it is possible that, without knowing what this means, they may check the box to register as voters. When applying for food assistance or help from nonprofit organizations, they may in some cases be asked if they wish to register to vote and, without knowing or by mistake, check the box. Federal forms only require you to affirm that you are a U.S. citizen; otherwise, you will be committing the crime of perjury. Many immigrants may believe they are also eligible to vote once they obtain a green card, which is not the case either, so they may not realize they are committing fraud. At Eagan Immigration, we’ve seen that immigrants strive to make their path to residency as secure as possible. That’s why we believe it’s unlikely they would jeopardize their immigration future by registering to vote. Living with uncertainty is a major source of stress for many. In the months leading up to the election, that uncertainty is likely to only get worse. Finding the path to stability and legal status may not be as difficult as you think, and the sooner you take that first step, the better.Originally published in The Press