In 2020, seven noncitizens were prosecuted in North Carolina for illegally voting in the 2016 election. These individuals faced penalties of six years in federal prison, a $350,000 fine, and a term of supervised release – not to mention loss on any opportunity to be awarded citizenship. Whether they understood the severity of their actions remained unknown, but nonetheless, they faced a real possibility of serving time in prison.
Nearly all Americans believe that U.S. citizenship should be a prerequisite to voting. And state laws reflect this. Indeed, citizenship – along with being 18 years of age and a resident of a particular jurisdiction – are often the only requirements to voting. It’s also no secret that millions of illegal immigrants have entered the country over the last four years. Estimates run as high as 11 million. Invariably, the names of some of these individuals will appear on voter rolls. Virginia, for example, has acknowledged that the names of over 6,300 noncitizens have been removed from its voter rolls. Other states like Oregon and Alabama have also revealed that names of noncitizens are on their voter rolls.
If these individuals vote in the upcoming election, they will commit a felony and face imprisonment and deportation. Perhaps they may not realize voting would subject them to deportation or other serious consequences. In situations where every name on the voter list is provided a mail ballot (whether they request it or not) the potential for committing a crime is higher. Again, it is not unreasonable for an ineligible individual to not realize they will commit a crime if they complete and submit a mail ballot that has arrived at their house.
Given this possibility and the severe consequences, it makes sense that states immediately undertake efforts to inform the public that ineligible individuals should not vote. This means placing notifications at voting precincts that citizenship is a requirement to vote. It means training election officials on what actions to take if an individual presents non-citizen identification at the polling location.
Taking steps to protect noncitizens from voting should be done with the knowledge that it is a federal crime to intimidate or attempt to intimidate others for the purpose of interfering with the right to vote. Efforts to provide information about the consequences of ineligible individuals casting a ballot should therefore be tempered and should not cross the line into intimidation. If an election official encounters someone at the polling location they suspect may not be eligible, they should respectfully inform that individual of the potential consequences. Clear signage at precincts would also help deter such conduct.
At this late hour, it is difficult for state election officials to remove names of ineligible individuals from the voting lists. After the election, steps can be taken to reform the National Voting Registration Act (NVRA) to include an affirmative obligation on election officials to remove non-citizens. Trust in systems is easily lost, and the events of 2020 convinced many that their votes didn’t count. But state officials can take reasonable and commonsense steps today to reassure voters that they are protecting the integrity of the electoral process.