If some state lawmakers get their wish, Rhode Island could also become a sanctuary state for illegal voters.
The Ocean State’s latest political malpractice would let even illegal immigrants vote in elections.
F or years, Rhode Island and its capital city of Providence have provided sanctuary for immigrants who have illegally entered America by shielding them from federal officials and by providing generous public assistance and schooling. And now, if some state lawmakers get their wish, Rhode Island could also become a sanctuary state for illegal voters.
The push for non-citizen voting in the Ocean State was given a major boost in 2022 when the general assembly and the governor enacted a law that would allow undocumented aliens residing in the state to obtain a driver’s license. As conservatives like me predicted, with this proverbial “nose under the tent,” a host of progressive state senators have quickly moved to sponsor legislation that would authorize Rhode Island’s cities and towns to allow “all residents” of that municipality — now armed with state-issued IDs — to vote in municipal elections, “regardless of the immigration status of the residents.” The legislation does not even specify how proof of residency might be demonstrated. In San Francisco, illegals simply have to offer a signed affidavit.
So it’s damn federal immigration law, damn local taxpayers, damn the Rhode Island populace, which already distrusts the integrity of our state’s election process, and damn the Rhode Island constitution. Openly rigging elections to favor the Democratic machine in the Ocean State is part of an ongoing assault on fair elections.
When it comes to voting rights, Rhode Island’s constitution is clear about who should be allowed to cast a ballot: “Every citizen of the United States of the age of eighteen years or over who has . . . resided thirty days in the town or city from which the citizen desires to vote, and whose name shall be registered at least thirty days next preceding the time of voting . . .”
Yet this language is being purposely misrepresented as simply an affirmation of citizens who must be provided the right to vote . . . and not a declaration of “people” who cannot be allowed to vote. The Rhode Island constitution intentionally uses the word “citizen,” while the bill’s sponsors seek to muddy the waters by referring to “people.” The bill’s sponsoring senators claim there is “ironclad” precedent for such interpretation, and surely if this legislation passes, the courts will eventually make the final determination.
It is impossible to know how many illegal voters might be empowered in Rhode Island, or in which towns they live, as there is zero transparency about how many undocumented immigrants reside in our state, receiving schooling and other public aid. And it’s not just illegal immigrants who would be allowed to vote under this proposed legislation. The bill’s sponsors confirm that international students — properly documented non-citizens who may be temporarily residing in Rhode Island while attending high school or college — would also be eligible to vote.
The political supremacists behind this legislation (H. 5461) do not even have the decency to consider the public good or put their proposal up for a public vote via a referendum or as a proposed amendment to the Rhode Island constitution. Instead, because they know what’s best for everyone else, they want to unilaterally empower municipalities to circumvent state voting laws.
What we also know is that the public trust in our state’s election process will be further diminished if illegal-immigrant driver’s licenses or an unverified affidavit will be sufficient documentation to allow a whole new cadre of voters to cast ballots in local elections. For every non-citizen who votes, some U.S. citizen in Rhode Island will have their vote canceled.
In Rhode Island, it’s already easy to vote . . . and easy to cheat, if one were so inclined; most Rhode Islanders understand this. It has been clearly demonstrated that a person can register to vote and then actually cast a ballot without ever showing official personal identification (PID), but there is little that can be done about it in a state with nearly 90 percent single-party control.
In Rhode Island there is likely a veto-proof majority of woke members of the general assembly to pass this legislation, if the bill moves forward. The only question is whether the state’s house and senate leadership will allow the bill to proceed.
It’s not just the integrity of Rhode Island’s election process that will be thrust into further turmoil if undocumented aliens are allowed to vote illegally. The integrity of our state’s constitution will also be put into crisis.