Key facts
- The Trump administration is increasing criminal prosecutions of noncitizens accused of voting in US elections.
- The Justice Department has brought charges against about 20 people this month under a law criminalizing 'voting by aliens'.
- This month's prosecutions represent roughly 13% of all prosecutions under the statute since its enactment three decades ago.
- The Department of Homeland Security has mobilized hundreds of agents in all 50 states to aid investigations.
- Critics allege the administration's claims aim to diminish confidence in the vote and potentially challenge election results.
- A Reuters review found that states may have added more than 30,000 self-declared noncitizens to voter rolls since 2000 due to errors.
The Trump administration is intensifying criminal prosecutions of noncitizens accused of voting in US elections, a move framed as a response to widespread election fraud claims ahead of the November midterms. The Justice Department has brought charges against approximately 20 individuals this month under a law prohibiting 'voting by aliens,' a figure that constitutes about 13% of all such prosecutions since the law's enactment three decades ago, according to a Reuters review of court records.
The Department of Homeland Security's investigative arm has deployed hundreds of agents across all 50 states to support what a Justice Department official described as a top priority for the attorney general and the White House. This official indicated that the pace of prosecutions is expected to accelerate in the weeks leading up to the November 3 elections.
This surge in cases is part of the administration's ongoing effort to highlight the threat of non-US citizen voting, despite studies suggesting the practice is rare. Critics, however, argue that these claims aim to undermine confidence in the electoral process and potentially lay the groundwork for challenging election results, particularly as polls suggest potential losses for Trump's Republican Party. Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar stated that the rhetoric surrounding noncitizen voting is "little by little eroding the trust of the public."
Trump administration officials have used these recent cases to counter criticisms. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter noted the dozens of cases brought in recent weeks as evidence against characterizations that such voting never occurs. A separate Reuters review found that over 30,000 self-declared noncitizens may have been added to voter rolls since 2000 due to software glitches and clerical errors. The recent prosecutions involve allegations that defendants registered or voted despite knowing they were not US citizens, representing a small fraction of the tens of millions of ballots cast in federal elections. Homeland Security Investigations has 1,600 open investigations into the matter.