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Motor Voter Law Loophole: Hundreds of Noncitizens Found on Arizona Voting Rolls

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A recent report revealed that at least 222 noncitizens have registered to vote in Arizona’s Maricopa County since 2015. The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) attributes the issue, in part, to the federal motor voter law that enables individuals to register to vote at local motor vehicle offices.

PILF President J. Christian Adams argues that the motor voter law creates problems for immigrants throughout the country. He emphasizes the need for Congress to modernize the law to reflect today’s technology and demographics. “For 30 years, foreign nationals have been getting registered to vote,” Adams said.

Out of the 222 noncitizens identified on the rolls, at least nine have voted in federal elections. However, the actual number of noncitizens on Maricopa County’s rolls, America’s fourth most populous county, remains unknown. Adams believes this issue highlights a problem that has not been sufficiently addressed.

Some states, in implementing the motor voter law, make everyone eligible to vote. For instance, Pennsylvania found over 11,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls in 2019. In North Carolina, voter registration forms had the “citizen” box pre-checked, resulting in noncitizens casting votes.

Adams argues that the primary issue is not the number of noncitizens voting but rather the lack of protection in the motor voter law to prevent noncitizens from registering in the first place. He believes that if this problem had been detected earlier, there would have been a bipartisan fix in Congress. However, Adams contends that Democrats have become “radicalized” on voting issues.

Ohio recently took action to address this concern by implementing a new law that labels “noncitizen” on driver’s licenses issued to non-American citizens and requires ID to be shown at polling places. Dan Tierney, a representative for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, explained that voter fraud cases primarily involve noncitizen voting, sometimes through the motor-voter program.

Inaccurate voter registration rolls remain a problem, as evidenced by Virginia’s discovery of 18,990 supposed voters on its rolls after checking death records dating back to 1960. Virginia Elections Commissioner Susan Beals expressed surprise at the extent of the issue.

The revelation of noncitizens on Arizona’s voting rolls underscores the need for election integrity and tighter controls on voter registration processes. Safeguarding our electoral system should be a priority for both parties to ensure that only eligible citizens are casting votes in American elections.

Alexandra Russel
Alexandra Russel
Highly respected journalist and political commentator with over a decade of experience in the industry. Alex was born and raised in Florida, where she developed a passion for writing at a young age, leading her to pursue a degree in journalism from the University of Florida. After graduation, she worked as a political reporter for several local and national publications before being appointed as the chief editor at Conservative Fix.
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