The baseless claim that noncitizens are poised to steal the upcoming election has become a persistent Republican talking point. The false narrative has real consequences for all voters.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
It is illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, and there’s no credible evidence that it happens in significant numbers.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
That has not stopped some politicians from talking as if noncitizens vote or could vote. Republicans talk of them voting for Democrats as they advocate what they describe as ballot security measures.
MARTIN: Joining us now is NPR’s Jude Joffe-Block. She’s been covering issues around democracy and how false narratives affect the country. Jude, welcome. Thanks for joining us.
JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK, BYLINE: Hello.
MARTIN: Why are we hearing so many claims about noncitizens voting this year?
JOFFE-BLOCK: So Trump has a history of claiming that elections are rigged against him. In 2020, he raised fears around voting by mail. And this year, he’s seized on record crossings by migrants to suggest it’s part of a plot to steal the election. And this rhetoric is concerning to a lot of people like Jasleen Singh. She’s an attorney at the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice, which advocates for voting rights.
JASLEEN SINGH: It’s just another tactic to undermine this election and sow doubt in the election and sort of to set up the ability for election deniers to call into question the election results after November 2024.
MARTIN: So, Jude, what sort of impact does this rhetoric have in the real world?
JOFFE-BLOCK: So first, there’s already lots of guardrails that states use to make sure that people are lawfully voting. But at least four states with Republican leadership are announcing new processes and efforts to remove noncitizens from the voter roles. And, of course, maintaining voter roles is a critical election safeguard. The key is how you do it. So for one, federal law says it can’t happen within 90 days of an election, and you have to be really careful to not mistakenly target eligible voters. But in my reporting, I found out these efforts are sweeping up U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote.
MARTIN: Say more about that. What happened to these voters?
JOFFE-BLOCK: One of them is William Pritchett. He’s 59. He was born and raised in Alabama – has always been a U.S. citizen. He’s one of 3,200 people in Alabama who are getting letters from election officials saying they could be noncitizens, so their voter registration is now inactive. The letter says if you are a U.S. citizen and eligible to vote, you should re-register. It’s not really clear at this point how Pritchett got flagged, but it shows these methods are prone to error. Pritchett quickly updated his registration, but he thinks the whole effort is misguided.
WILLIAM PRITCHETT: It doesn’t surprise me at all considering the narrative that’s out there right now where they’re basically trying to convince people that the election will be decided by noncitizens, you know, that are voting or whatever, which is, in my opinion, is a false narrative.
JOFFE-BLOCK: I also talked to several naturalized citizens in Tennessee who got similar letters earlier this summer that felt to them like voter intimidation. And in Texas, a rumor spread by a Fox Business host – that was debunked – about noncitizens supposedly registering to vote led to the state’s attorney general launching a criminal investigation into voter registration groups.
MARTIN: So, Jude, where do things stand as we get closer to the election?
JOFFE-BLOCK: Well, advocacy groups are paying close attention. They’ve asked Tennessee and Alabama to halt these efforts, saying they violate federal law. And Tennessee later said people who got letters would not be purged from the voter roles. Alabama’s secretary of state told NPR anyone who got a letter and is a citizen can still vote on Election Day if they show proof. But he’s also said he sent the names on this list over to the state’s attorney general for investigation. And there’s a chilling effect that comes from all of this that could prompt eligible citizens to opt out of participating.
MARTIN: That is NPR’s Jude Joffe-Block. Jude, thank you.
JOFFE-BLOCK: Thank you.
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