Several Republican-led states have identified and removed thousands of noncitizens off their voting rolls as Election Day inches closer.
Government officials in Alabama, Virginia, Texas and Ohio have identified as many as 17,000 noncitizens on state voting rolls and have worked to remove them from the books, according to a tally of recent announcements by their state leaders. The announcements come as polls indicate a tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, particularly in major swing states.
The Alabama secretary of state identified 3,251 individuals registered to vote who had been issued noncitizen identification numbers, the Virginia attorney general identified and removed 6,000 noncitizens on voter rolls since he entered office, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced his administration had purged more than 6,500 noncitizens from state voter rolls and the Ohio secretary of state says he’s identified 597 individuals registered to vote despite not being citizens — including 138 people who appear to have already cast a ballot.
“I’m duty-bound to make sure people who haven’t yet earned citizenship in this country do not vote in our elections,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said in an August statement regarding the discovery of noncitizens on voter rolls.
“The law requires me to refer [the noncitizens who allegedly voted in Ohio] to the attorney general, and that’s what we’re doing today,” LaRose continued.
Other election officials are being pushed to take action on alleged inclusion of noncitizens on local voter rolls via threat of legal action.
America First Legal — a Washington, D.C.,-based organization led by former Trump administration senior advisor Stephen Miller — filed a lawsuit against the Maricopa County, Arizona, recorder in August for allegedly disregarding state law by requiring officials to purge voter rolls of any noncitizens. There were over 35,000 registered voters in Arizona who did not provide proof of citizenship as of April 1, according to a press release by America First Legal in July, which demanded county recorders across the state to take action.
The concerted effort to remove noncitizens from voter rolls coincides with what appears to be a close presidential election.
The Real Clear Politics (RCP) average of recent national surveys shows Harris with a 1.8 % lead over Trump, well within the margin of error of most surveys. The RCP average also shows incredibly tight races in Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin and other swing states.
The fight to protect election integrity from noncitizens has reached the federal level, with Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy introducing legislation earlier this year that, if signed into law, would mandate states to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls. However, the Biden-Harris administration so strongly opposed the bill, President Joe Biden issued a statement in July claiming the legislation was based on “easily proven falsehoods.”
“I’m honored to be in the crosshairs of the White House — This administration is clearly not interested in safeguarding American citizen’s right to vote,” Roy said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation in response to the White House’s vocal opposition.
“This is about political power,” Roy added.
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