The Alarming Election Vulnerability That Goes Far Beyond California

An unknown number of noncitizens could be registered to vote in this year’s midterm elections due to lax enforcement, inadequate technology, and systemic failures by state governments.

California and Hawaii are among the states where problems persist. But improper registrations can happen anywhere, potentially becoming consequential in exceptionally close elections.

That’s the assessment of J. Christian Adams, president and general counsel of the Public Interest Legal Foundation. He joined me on the latest episode of “Midterm Report,” the Daily Signal’s special election podcast, to discuss the problem of noncitizen voting.

“If the aliens are telling the election officials that they’re aliens and they’re still getting registered, we have a complete breakdown,” Adams said.

Writing in the New York Post this week, Adams praised the Trump administration for enforcing laws against noncitizens who illegally register and vote. He said the Justice Department is “finally” doing what should have been done for years.

Adams pointed to Oakland, California, as one example of a breakdown in the system.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation obtained records through litigation that Adams said showed people registering to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Even though they had answered “no” when asked if they were U.S. citizens, they were still registered.

“There’s a question on the form that says, ‘Are you a U.S. citizen?’” Adams explained. “They’re marking no and getting registered to vote in California.”

He said the problem isn’t confined to Oakland.

“What I’m telling you is it’s happening in large numbers. It’s happening in California. It’s happening across the country,” Adams said.

>>> WHY ARE NONCITIZEN VOTERS ONLY FOUND AFTER THEY’RE REGISTERED?

Adams blamed both technology and election administrators. He said voter-registration software should prevent an application from proceeding when someone indicates that he or she isn’t a citizen.

“Whenever somebody marks the no button, it should be like game over,” Adams said.

‘Anything Greater Than Zero Is Too Many’

Just how widespread the problem remains uncertain.

Adams was careful not to claim that anyone knows precisely how many noncitizens are on voter rolls nationwide. He also distinguished the question of registration from whether an ineligible voter actually casts a ballot.

“If you’re asking how many noncitizens are on the rolls, anything greater than zero is too many,” Adams said. “We don’t know the answer to this.”

When asked for an estimate, Adams stressed that he was guessing.

“If I had to guess how many noncitizens are on the rolls, it’s going to be between, I don’t know, 4,000 and 75,000,” Adams said. “We just don’t know because the data are so fluid, the data are so unreliable.”

>>> NONCITIZEN VOTING CASES CONTRADICT DEMOCRATS’ CLAIMS THEY DON’T HAPPEN

That uncertainty is significant. The presence of noncitizens on voter rolls does not by itself establish that the person voted illegally.

Adams nevertheless argued that even relatively few illegal votes have the potential to become significant because some elections are decided by razor-thin margins. He cited The Heritage Foundation’s voter-fraud database and his organization’s database of close elections.

“It matters because one vote matters,” he said.

Adams said the problem appears particularly acute in sanctuary jurisdictions. He cited research by his organization examining where noncitizens have surfaced on voter rolls and specifically identified California, New York, New Mexico, and Hawaii as states with problems.

“Hawaii, I have found, is—we’ve been doing a lot of litigation there at PILF—it’s completely lawless,” Adams said. “They don’t follow federal law.”

States Don’t Have to Wait for Washington

Throughout much of this year, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, have pushed federal legislation intended to require proof of citizenship as part of the voter-registration process.

The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, photo identification to cast a ballot, and other commonsense election reforms to reduce fraud and restore confidence in our elections. After winning approval in the House of Representatives, it stalled in the Senate amid Democrat opposition.

Adams said states need not wait for Congress. He encouraged election officials to use the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to help check the citizenship status of people on their voter rolls.

“I don’t think that the answer here lies in Washington anymore,” Adams said. “The answer now lies in the states.”

Adams described the SAVE database as the best tool currently available to election officials, while acknowledging its limitations.

“The SAVE database has the best information there is as to who’s an alien. It’s got the most up-to-date information,” Adams said. “Maybe it’s not perfect, but it’s the best we’ve got.”

He cited Florida as a state that, in his view, has used SAVE effectively.

>>> CALIFORNIA’S VOTE-BY-MAIL MESS IS EXACTLY WHY WE NEED THE SAVE AMERICA ACT

Adams also offered an argument for addressing faulty registrations that could potentially appeal to both parties: Noncitizens themselves can suffer consequences if they wind up improperly registered.

“Maybe they should fix the broken system because noncitizens get deported and arrested because they end up on the rolls, sometimes through no fault of their own,” Adams said.

He acknowledged that noncitizens bear responsibility for signing a form asserting citizenship, but contended some may also have been wrongly advised about their eligibility to register.

Adams said there are other cases in which noncitizens intentionally violate the law. He credited the Justice Department with prosecuting such cases.

“There are noncitizens who are doing this nefariously,” Adams said, adding that “finally, the Justice Department is arresting them.”

California Voters Get a Say

Voters in California have an opportunity this year to weigh in on a hot-button election integrity measure through Proposition 39. The proposal would require citizens to present government-issued identification at polling places.

Adams argued that voter ID has established broad political appeal, although he was unsure how Californians would ultimately vote.

“The Left has lost the voter ID fight,” Adams said. “Most Americans, by sizable numbers, support basic, simple voter ID.”

>>> THE REAL REASON SOME STATES STILL COUNT VOTES FOR WEEKS

Adams said California currently lacks voter ID and argued that identification requirements would strengthen safeguards for in-person and absentee voting. The proposal received new attention this week thanks to a viral ad featuring an overweight man impersonating actress Sydney Sweeney.

Heritage’s Election Integrity Scorecard evaluates states on a range of election policies, including voter identification and voter-list maintenance. California is ranked 50th.

‘Bank Your Ballots’

With Election Day approaching, Adams offered another message that might surprise some conservatives: Don’t wait until Nov. 3 to vote.

“They’ve got to bank their ballots now,” Adams said.

His advice comes despite his own objections to early voting. Adams told the Daily Signal that he believes early voting is bad policy but that voters should use the system that exists.

The issue is also personal for Adams. His mother, a Virginia voter, died recently without having an opportunity to cast her ballot.

“A lot of people like to vote on Election Day. I get it,” Adams said. “But … some people alive today are not going to be alive on Election Day. I saw that firsthand, so go vote.”

>>> THE ELECTION ISSUE FEW POLLSTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT

Adams also encouraged Americans interested in election integrity to get involved directly in the process by serving as poll workers or observers in future elections.

He said his nearly three decades of monitoring elections have taught him that the reality inside polling places is typically far more mundane than some of the rhetoric surrounding elections suggests.

“You’ve got to learn this space by going into the polls, spending an entire day,” Adams said. “It is an important experience if you want to know what you’re talking about.”

And despite years spent searching for election problems, Adams offered one bit of reassurance.

“I’ve been monitoring elections for more than two—it’s almost three decades now,” he said, “and I’ve never seen the bus of zombies.”

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