Noncitizen Voting Is a Real Problem — and This Loophole Explains Why

H ave thousands of noncitizens illegally voted in America’s elections?

The Trump administration announced last week that it’s investigating at least that many allegations of noncitizen voting fraud. The news was met with the usual media roll-of-the-eyes, based on the assumption that election fraud simply isn’t committed, whether by illegal aliens, green card holders, or anyone else. But such fraud clearly does happen. For example, the deep-blue state of New Jersey recently found 6,600 noncitizens on its voter rolls, about 400 of whom cast ballots. And that’s just in a single state.

Unfortunately, there are many ways for noncitizens to get on voter rolls. But one explanation is particularly concerning: Federal law has a massive loophole that lets noncitizens register to vote at most welfare agencies in America. It’s a blatant invitation to fraud, and as I show in a new paper, states can take quick action to protect the ballot box.

This loophole has existed in plain sight since 1993, when the National Voter Registration Act became law. It requires states to designate “all offices . . . that provide public assistance” as voter registration agencies as well. The list includes Medicaid offices, food stamp offices, and agencies that oversee programs such as cash welfare. Basically, whenever you show up at one of these locations in all but a handful of states, you’re asked if you’d like to register to vote.

What if you’re a noncitizen and you say, “Yes, register me to vote”? The welfare agency dutifully signs you up at the same time it enrolls you in welfare programs. Yet while your application for welfare is checked on the back end to ensure you’re eligible, your voter registration is never checked against your citizenship records. You can be denied taxpayer support because you’re a noncitizen while still receiving approval to vote — even though noncitizen voting is illegal in federal elections. And even if your welfare application is denied, a welfare agency doesn’t have to inform state election officials about your initial voter registration.

When you open a loophole this big, people inevitably jump through it. Virginia has flagged more than 6,300 potential noncitizens on its voter rolls, while Texas has found more than 6,500 — nearly 2,000 of whom had a voting history. It’s all but certain that some of them registered to vote at welfare agencies. Between 2018 and 2020 alone, welfare agencies processed more than 1.5 million voter registration applications. Noncitizens are highly likely to be among this massive number.

Some may have registered to vote with full knowledge and desire to commit fraud. Others may have signed up thinking they were supposed to do so. After all, if a government agency asks if you want to do something, it’s reasonable for you to assume the action isn’t illegal. But welfare agencies aren’t staffed with election officials, and asking their staff to register voters without eligibility verification is an invitation for fraud.

Closing this loophole nationwide would require an act of Congress, and President Trump has rightly pushed for this in the SAVE America Act. Yet lawmakers haven’t been able to find a path forward. Until they do, states should take action to prevent noncitizen voting and protect the ballot box.

First and foremost, states ought to immediately and routinely check their voter rolls against the federal SAVE system. The system, which is free, helps states quickly discover who’s not eligible to vote. Yet only a handful of states regularly use this tool, and while several others have laws allowing them to do so, they haven’t created a standard process. Every state should use this system once a year, at a minimum.

Second, states should require their welfare agencies to screen anyone who registers to vote, so there’s back-end verification of their eligibility. They should also be required to report potential noncitizens to the election authorities. State lawmakers should create a broader reporting system so the public is aware of how many noncitizens were blocked from registering, how many have been removed from voter rolls, and which agencies the registration occurred.

Finally, election officials should take action. They should quickly remove noncitizens from voter rolls and refer them to state authorities for potential prosecution. For that matter, state election officials should tell federal immigration authorities. Illegally registering to vote raises serious concerns about whether someone should be in America at all.

Few states are close to closing this loophole, and it’s too late to secure elections before the November 3 midterms. But governors and lawmakers should still be working to pass these reforms as soon as possible — ideally before the end of the year or early next year. Noncitizens are voting in America’s elections because the federal government has made it absurdly easy to get on voter rolls.

The media may ignore the problem, but state lawmakers shouldn’t tolerate this election fraud any longer.