After almost per week of protests in Los Angeles in opposition to current 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 Reality Social publish 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 develop their voter base, cheat in elections, and develop the welfare state, robbing good paying jobs and advantages from hardworking Americans.”
However in accordance with Los Angeles County election officers, that’s merely not true.
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“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 develop into registered voters in California?
Within the state of California there are 5 necessities an individual should meet to register to vote, in accordance with the California Secretary of State. To register a person should be:
- A U.S. citizen.
- A resident of California.
- At the very least 18 years or older on or earlier than Election Day.
- Not at the moment serving a state or federal jail time period for the conviction of a felony.
- Not at the moment discovered mentally incompetent to vote by a courtroom.
When an individual meets the eligibility standards, they’ll 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 muse 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 USA the place noncitizens can take part in native elections, for instance in communities in Vermont and Maryland, participation is restricted to 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 college board.
How does Los Angeles County confirm who’s voting in federal elections?
As soon as a voter registers, their private data is verified by the State Voter Registration database, which is completed by cross-checking state Division of Motor Automobile data 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 full on-line checklist of what figuring out paperwork to take to the polling place.
As soon as polling locations open for voters inside 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 in opposition to a number of information factors together with loss of life data from the California Division of Public Well being, Social Safety Administration, Division of Motor Autos, and the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation,” the California Secretary of State advised The Instances 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 report, 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 massive numbers — and for Democrats — has been repeated for years.
It has seeds within the once-fringe racist conspiracy concept referred to as the “nice substitute.” In response to a ballot by the Related Press and and NORC Heart for Public Affairs Analysis, 1 in 3 Individuals now imagine “an effort is underway to switch U.S.-born Individuals with immigrants for electoral positive factors.”
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 dwelling 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 widespread vote loss,” Hasen mentioned.
After shedding 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 finally voted again into the White Home.
“In 2024, after I suppose Trump and the Republicans concluded that the assaults on absentee ballots had been truly hurting them as a result of individuals don’t need to present up in particular person to vote, the shift went again to immigration,” Hasen mentioned.
Voter fraud claims echo whomever is attempting to dictate the political narrative, in accordance with Hasen.
Researchers have discovered, repeatedly by a long time of investigation, that fraud performed by voters on the polls is just about nonexistent and doesn’t occur “on a scale even near that essential to “rig” an election, in accordance with the Brennan Heart for Justice. Many situations of reported fraud had been as a result of clerical errors or human errors.
“I feel one of many issues we’ve seen is individuals on the shedding finish of elections are usually 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 method past what we usually see by way of partisan divisions.”
However Trump will not be 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 get together positive factors sufficient voters to win an election by importing them and giving them free stuff, then they may accomplish that,” he posted in September.
So is the variety of undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles rising?
Sure, however doubtless 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 accordance with the Public Coverage Institute of California.
Between 2019 and 2022, the inhabitants of undocumented immigrants in most states throughout the nation steadily climbed. California’s nonetheless, decreased, in accordance with the Pew Analysis Heart.
Lately, most new immigrants are going to Florida, Texas and the South relatively 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 staff, mother and father, elements of religion establishments.”
