Friends,
Last Friday night, Donald Trump hosted Speaker Mike Johnson at his Mar-a-Lago golf club for a news conference about “illegal voting” and the southern border among other topics.
During their joint appearance, both men strongly argued that noncitizens should not be able to vote – the implication being that it is discouraged but not against the law to do so currently. Speaker Johnson continued by stating House Republicans would move to introduce federal legislation mandating all states require proof of citizenship in order to cast a ballot.
The thing is…it’s already a state and federal crime to vote as an undocumented person.
Here are the facts:
- To register to vote in Washington state, you must attest in a signed statement that you are a U.S. citizen and eligible to vote. You must also provide a form of identification. Common identification includes a Washington state driver’s license or state-issued ID number, or the last four digits of a social security number.
- The nonpartisan Brennan Center’s own study of 42 jurisdictions in the 2016 general election found that election officials in those places, who oversaw the tabulation of 23.5 million votes, referred only an estimated 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting for further investigation or prosecution. In other words, even suspected — not proven — noncitizen votes accounted for just 0.0001 percent of the votes cast.
- States have multiple measures in place to deter noncitizen voting. Those who violate the law face prison time and deportation.
- Washington state voter rolls are updated every 60 days through the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). It’s important to remember that current voter rolls are always a snapshot in time. Every hour, people are moving to and from Washington, turning 18, dying, or becoming a citizen for the first time by completing the naturalization process.
As the son of an Asian immigrant, Donald Trump and Speaker Johnson are missing the bigger point – the very last thing an undocumented person wants to do is illegally cast a ballot. Undocumented immigrants are people seeking a better life and future for their families, and intentionally creating a government record jeopardizing naturalization goes against that goal.
What we should instead be focusing on is expanding opportunities for eligible voters to cast a ballot.
Here in Washington, my office has proudly requested legislation to expand automatic voter registration, to register online, and to engage voters across the state through creative education and outreach efforts. We’ve worked closely with our legislative partners, and have achieved significant progress these past three years.
Thank you for your continued support, and for joining me in pushing back against factual inaccuracies by Donald Trump and his congressional enablers.
-Steve
Friends of Steve Hobbs · 3309 114th Dr NE · Lake Stevens, WA 98258-8787 · USA