Opinion: ‘Rare’ noncitizen voting is still too much

In October 2017, a friend of mine who worked in the Secretary of State’s office at the time told me about opposition to a proposed rule about to be implemented under Iowa’s new voter ID bill passed earlier that spring.

The rule — which the new law itself mandated — said that a voter’s registration “shall be canceled” if they submit a form claiming they are not eligible for jury duty because they are not a United States citizen.

To be an eligible voter, one must be a U.S. citizen and swear to that on their voter registration form. So if that same voter is claiming to be a noncitizen on a different government form, that raises a red flag about their eligibility to vote.

They could have inadvertently checked the wrong box, sure. But they also could have lied about not being a citizen to get out of jury duty. Lying on a jury form is a felony, so if the only consequence they face is having to reregister to vote … well, lucky them.

The obvious question: People aren’t actually doing that, right?

Wrong. In a span of a few months, at least eight people were found that year to have declined jury duty claiming non-citizenship — despite already being registered voters.

What if any one of them weren’t lying on the jury form — and were truly were ineligible for jury duty because they weren’t a U.S. citizen?

It would be a problem, then, for them to be a registered voter. It would be an even bigger problem if they had ever actually voted.

If not the loss of their immigration status, you’d think that the threat of five years in jail (and a $10,245 fine) would be enough to deter any person from trying to vote when they know they’re not eligible. And for most, it is.

But some people choose stupid anyway. And they’re not always caught in time. That’s likely why 83% of Americans, according to an October 2024 Gallup poll, support requiring proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote for the first time.

This could be the year that it finally happens. On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The bill would amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require that anyone registering to vote for federal office provides verification of their U.S. citizenship.

Americans registering to vote can prove citizenship with documents including but not limited to: a U.S. passport, a naturalization certificate, or any REAL ID-compliant state ID that also specifies U.S. citizenship.

Registering voters can also use a regular state ID accompanied with their birth certificate, adoption decree or consular report of birth abroad, among other documents.

Critics who have decried the SAVE Act have claimed that the new law would disenfranchise millions of people whose legal names don’t match their birth certificates, such as married people who change their surnames.

Context dispels much that claim. The bill would not require proof of citizenship every time a person votes — it is to verify citizenship upon registration. The bill gives no indication that the new law will block existing registered voters from the rolls if they don’t immediately verify their citizenship.

Additionally, those whose name does not match their birth certificate likely already require the same legal proof of a name change they might need for citizenship verification. Getting a new driver’s license or passport and changing one’s name on bank accounts and credit cards usually requires official proof.

Come to think of it, many states also need official proof when you — get this — change your name on your voter registration.

As for those who do not possess any of those documents, the SAVE Act requires that each state adopt a process through which an eligible voter can attest to their citizenship and work with state officials tasked with determining whether they’ve established citizenship. But because many important life events require legal documents, voters who think they might need them shouldn’t wait to obtain them.

The bill also adds the act of “knowingly and willfully” registering someone to vote in federal elections who fails to verify their citizenship to the list of actions subject to criminal penalties. Although critics have suggested that such penalties unfairly target election workers, laws regarding election misconduct are already standard practice at the state and federal level. Iowa Code 39A has long defined election misconduct for civilians and election officials that ranges in severity from a simple misdemeanor to a felony.

I wish it didn’t, but whether we care to acknowledge it or not, illegal voting by noncitizens does happen. Last September, a lawfully present foreign national living in Marshalltown was charged with two counts of first-degree election misconduct, a Class D felony. Jorge Oscar Sanchez-Vasquez is accused of registering to vote and casting a ballot in a July 2024 special election to fill a city council vacancy. His trial is set for next month.

The most ardent argument from those opposed to citizenship verification is that it’s not necessary because noncitizen voting is so rare.

They’re right — it is rare. Out of approximately 2,253,000 registered voters in Iowa leading up to the 2024 general election, 277 were confirmed by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate to be noncitizens. Of those 277 noncitizen registered voters, 40 cast a vote during the 2024 general election. Thirty-five of those votes counted, totaling about 0.002% of the 1,674,011 ballots cast in Iowa.

For the record, if that same minuscule percentage applied to the total votes cast for president nationwide, that would equal 3,245 votes, which is not a small number.

But 35 is no small number, either. It’s just shy of six times the number of votes that decided the race for Iowa’s then-Second Congressional District in 2020, when Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks defeated Rita Hart to succeed the retiring Dave Loebsack by a mere six votes.

If only 0.002% of the 394,625 ballots cast in that IA-02 race in 2020 were voted by noncitizens, that would have made for eight illegal votes — more than enough to change the outcome of that race.

Citizenship verification is not a matter of whether illegal voting by noncitizens is rare. It’s a matter of whether it is possible. And we know it is.

We also know that if someone lies about being a citizen on their voter registration form, prior to voting, it’s possible that ballot will be counted before the infraction is discovered, let alone reported.

One such scenario: A foreign national living in Iowa who wanted to vote illegally could present their Iowa driver’s license when trying to register. Iowa IDs do not specify whether the individual is a U.S. citizen. (A bill to require citizenship status on a driver’s license failed to pass the second legislative “funnel” deadline earlier this month.)

Instead, an Iowa ID issued to noncitizens is only distinguishable from a citizen’s by the phrase “LIMITED-TERM,” printed in the exact same font, size and color as the rest of the information printed on the ID. It’s inconspicuous enough that any election official could miss it if they’re not intently looking for it.

Now, in my 10 years of working elections in one of Iowa’s most populous counties, I’ve never seen that happen. It’s been my experience that Iowa’s election officials are highly capable and well-trained. But even the best workers are human beings capable of mistakes.

If an election worker’s rare mistake of failing to spot two vague words on an ID resulted in a noncitizen registering to vote and getting a ballot, that illegally obtained ballot is not retrievable after it is cast.

Yes, it’s highly likely that after the election the voter in this scenario would be caught (and prosecuted,) as the verification process prescribed in Iowa Administrative Code would surely reveal that the voter is not a citizen.

But the ballot will still count.

The SAVE Act now heads to the U.S. Senate, where it likely faces a bigger hurdle than it did in the House. Though President Donald Trump has pressed hard for its passage, this deal is far from done.

Noncitizen voting is rare. That’s a good thing.

But a single vote can determine a whole race. A single race can determine control of a legislative chamber. Control of a legislative chamber can determine the entire course of civic business that affects people’s daily lives. As long as that’s possible, “rare” is not good enough for the American electorate.

Comments: 319-398-8266; althea.cole@thegazette.com