After almost every week of protests in Los Angeles towards latest federal immigration enforcement sweeps within the metropolis, President Trump doubled down on his administration’s efforts to detain and deport immigrants with out documentation, claiming they’re a key voting bloc in Democratic cities.
In a on Sunday, Trump mentioned Los Angeles and “different such cities, are the core of the Democrat Energy Heart, the place they use unlawful aliens to broaden their voter base, cheat in elections, and develop the welfare state, robbing good paying jobs and advantages from hardworking Americans.”
However in response to Los Angeles County election officers, that’s merely not true.
“That declare is fake and unsupported, and solely serves to create unsubstantiated concern and confusion concerning the electoral course of,” the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s workplace mentioned in an announcement.
In actuality, the county has safeguards in place to make sure solely eligible voters forged ballots and that every one votes are precisely counted, mentioned Mike Sanchez, spokesperson for the county’s Registrar-Recorder’s workplace.
How do individuals turn into registered voters in California?
Within the state of California there are 5 necessities an individual should meet to register to vote, in response to the California Secretary of State. To register a person have to be:
- A U.S. citizen.
- A resident of California.
- At the least 18 years or older on or earlier than Election Day.
- Not at present serving a state or federal jail time period for the conviction of a felony.
- Not at present discovered mentally incompetent to vote by a court docket.
When an individual meets the eligibility standards, they will register to vote which incorporates testifying beneath penalty of perjury that they meet all eligibility necessities, together with being a U.S. citizen and a resident of California, mentioned Sanchez.
“This sworn assertion is a authorized declaration and serves as the inspiration of the voter registration course of,” Sanchez mentioned.
Voting as a noncitizen is a felony that may result in a 12 months in jail or deportation, mentioned Hasen.
Although there are some cities in the US the place noncitizens can take part in native elections, for instance in communities in voting in class board or metropolis council elections.
In California, San Francisco is the one metropolis the place noncitizens can vote and it’s restricted to the varsity board.
How does Los Angeles County confirm who’s voting in federal elections?
As soon as a voter registers, their private info is verified by the State Voter Registration database, which is completed by cross-checking state Division of Motor Automobile information or the final 4 digits of the particular person’s Social Safety quantity, Sanchez mentioned.
When the verification course of is full, a voter doesn’t have to point out their identification when voting in particular person. If verification has not occurred, the voter should present identification the primary time they vote. Acceptable types of identification embrace a driver’s license, state-issued I.D or passport; the California Secretary of State has a of what figuring out paperwork to take to the polling place.
As soon as polling locations open for voters throughout the county, the voter should signal a roster within the presence of election staff, who attest to their identification and eligibility.
“Elections officers additionally conduct common voter roll upkeep, checking towards a number of knowledge factors together with loss of life information from the California Division of Public Well being, Social Safety Administration, Division of Motor Automobiles, and the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation,” the California Secretary of State informed The Occasions in an announcement.
For vote-by-mail ballots, the signature on the return envelope is in comparison with the one on file within the voter registration document, Sanchez mentioned. If the signature doesn’t match or is lacking, the voter is contacted and given an opportunity to appropriate it.
“Solely verified ballots are accepted and counted,” he mentioned.
The place do the claims about undocumented immigrants voting originate?
The declare that immigrants missing documentation vote in giant numbers — and for Democrats — has been repeated for years.
It has seeds within the once-fringe racist conspiracy concept known as the “nice substitute.” In response to a ballot by the , 1 in 3 People now imagine “an effort is underway to interchange U.S.-born People with immigrants for electoral positive aspects.”
The speculation has gained momentum beneath Trump.
In 2016, Trump gained the Electoral Faculty and the presidency, however not the favored vote. That went to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who obtained about 2.9 million extra votes.
Trump then claimed, with out proof, that he would have gained the favored vote if 3 to five million immigrants residing within the nation illegally hadn’t voted.
“About 3 million votes was the margin by which he misplaced the favored vote which is why I feel he selected that 3 million quantity to attempt to clarify away his common vote loss,” Hasen mentioned.
After dropping his reelection bid in 2020 to Joe Biden, when voting by mail was a spotlight, Trump refocused on immigrants missing authorization within the 2024 marketing campaign and was in the end voted again into the White Home.
“In 2024, after I suppose Trump and the Republicans concluded that the assaults on absentee ballots have been really hurting them as a result of individuals don’t wish to present up in particular person to vote, the shift went again to immigration,” Hasen mentioned.
Voter fraud claims echo whomever is making an attempt to dictate the political narrative, in response to Hasen.
Researchers have discovered, repeatedly by a long time of investigation, that fraud carried out by voters on the polls is nearly nonexistent and doesn’t occur “on a scale even near that essential to “rig” an election, in response to the . Many situations of reported fraud have been on account of clerical errors or human errors.
“I feel one of many issues we’ve seen is individuals on the dropping finish of elections are typically extra more likely to imagine that there’s dishonest,” Hasen mentioned. “However Donald Trump has actually supercharged issues to the purpose the place we’re approach past what we usually see by way of partisan divisions.”
However Trump just isn’t alone in fueling that concept lately. Final 12 months as he campaigned for Trump, billionaire Elon Musk repeated these claims on his social media platform, X.
“If the Democratic celebration positive aspects sufficient voters to win an election by importing them and giving them free stuff, then they are going to achieve this,”
So is the variety of undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles rising?
Sure, however probably not on the fee it as soon as was, mentioned Manuel Paster, professor of sociology and American research at USC.
California’s immigrant inhabitants — together with these with out authorization — elevated by 5% (about 500,000) from 2010 to 2023, in comparison with 14% (1.27 million) from 2000 to 2010, and by 37% (2.4 million) rise within the Nineties, in response to the .
Between 2019 and 2022, the inhabitants of undocumented immigrants in most states throughout the nation steadily climbed. California’s nevertheless, decreased, in response to the .
Today, most new immigrants are going to Florida, Texas and the South slightly than high-cost California, Pastor mentioned.
“Los Angeles, greater than 70% of our undocumented immigrants have been within the nation for longer than a decade,” he mentioned. “They’re extra more likely to be lengthy established workers, dad and mom, components of religion establishments.”
