The greatest border crisis in U.S. history grinds on, with an estimated 8 to 10 million illegal foreign nationals entering the country since Joe Biden became president in 2021 and stopped enforcing border security. As hundreds of thousands are offered federal benefits, asylum, or Social Security numbers for work permits, what are the chances they will flow onto voter rolls illegally ahead of the 2024 election?
An accountant’s answer might apply: Highly likely; it also depends.
It is up to states to remove ineligible voters from registration lists by going back to the root of the illegal registration: their departments of motor vehicles (DMV). Since it was enacted in 1993, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), “Motor Voter,” has expanded voter registration by integrating it with driver license issuance. It also created a cascade of noncitizens flowing onto voter rolls.
Many on the left claim it’s illegal for noncitizens to register to vote and to cast ballots, so that’s that. But when millions are opted into registration automatically in at least 44 states — even if they check “no” on the citizenship question — it is up to states to check on their citizenship status.
Many states do use “legal presence” codes provided by the DMV to check. Arizona has been using the DMV data since 1996 to at least filter out noncitizens for state elections. More states could do the same, and come into compliance with two key pillars of motor voter: maintaining accurate rolls and making that
