In response to all of the noise about election fraud, I decided to write about it. I have worked at the polls since 2016. It is work that I enjoy, am proud of, and take very seriously. Free and fair elections are the essence of our democracy.
Imagine my disappointment, then, when claims of election fraud started up again this election cycle. The latest claim is that Democrats are importing thousands of illegal immigrants and registering them to vote illegally, and/or election officials are allowing illegal immigrants to vote. Former President Trump repeated that claim on the debate stage as a matter of fact.
Now I will say that if you already convinced that widespread fraud in going to happen here in North Carolina, and you will not be convinced otherwise, you can stop reading now. If you are confident in the integrity of the election system here, you can read on if you want. For those of you who are not sure, I hope you will read this. It’s a bit long, but I think it’s worth your time. I’ve added fact-check citations throughout this article.
Here are a few points:
1. Illegal immigrants cannot vote in any statewide or national election anywhere in the United States. https://www.usa.gov/who-can-vote Attempting to vote without being a citizen is a Class 1 felony. Some municipalities allow all adults to register and vote in local elections, but there are none in NC. In NC you are asked to provide either a driver’s license or a SSN to register. NCBOE requires that SSN or driver’s license number to be verified. NC State Law states that you need to indicate when you register if you do not have either ID. Folks at the Wake County BOE told me those types of registrations are verified as well. You also need to prove residency in North Carolina for the prior 30 days, so folks cannot come into NC at the last minute and register to vote. https://www.ncsbe.gov/registering/who-can-register If you are not a citizen of the United States, you cannot obtain a SSN. https://www.ssa.gov/people/immigrants/ In order to get a driver’s license in NC, you have to prove (with documentation) that you are either a US Citizen (I had to present my Social Security Card when I got a REAL ID), or that you are a LEGAL immigrant. Again those drivers licenses are verified if the person registers to vote. (County Election Official)
2. The entire elections system in NC is bipartisan. (Confirmed with County Election Official), from the State BOE, through the county BOE’s right down to precincts. Indeed, the usual folks that work at my precinct come from both parties. In order for widespread fraud to occur, one party would have to do it under the watchful eye of the other. The State BOE actually has this system-wide bipartisanship as a goal to prevent fraud from actually occurring and to increase voter confidence. (As per County Election Official)
3. In order for widespread fraud to occur with regard to illegal immigrants registering and voting, a LOT of people would need to be in on the con. There are many hundreds of election officials across the state. The county boards for all 100 counties in NC are separate entities. The amount of people needed to fraudulently register immigrants in numbers to affect a statewide election would take coordination between individuals in multiple counties. Each individual county is responsible for registering its own residents.
4. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank (and the authors of Project 2025) has kept track of voter fraud since 1980. In 2023 they counted a few more than 1400 cases of voter fraud in their database. https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/commentary/election-fraud-database-tops-1400-cases That was data that included every voter in every election since 1980, and it includes 2020, when widespread fraud was alleged to have occurred. https://www.heritage.org/voterfraud/search?combine=&state=All&year=2020&case_type=All&fraud_type=All Indeed, we did have an occurrence of voter fraud in NC that threw an election in the 9th Congressional District in 2016. Several Bladen County Republican supporters of a Republican Congressional candidate (who was not implicated) engaged in an absentee ballot harvesting scheme. All of the participants were charged and convicted. The election was redone. The scheme was actually discovered by the Bladen County BOE. None of the people implicated were election workers. https://www.fayobserver.com/story/news/2022/10/01/four-plead-guilty-to-committing-election-fraud-in-nc-in-2016-and-2018/69530605007/
So that’s what I have. Make up your own mind. If you live in another state, I would encourage you to look things up yourself so you know how registration works in your state. It’s a little too late for this election, but I would also suggest that you volunteer at the polls. It’s one day of training and the day at the polls, and you get paid a little something.
Thanks for reading!
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