The Noncitizen Voting Myth

How false claims are used as a weapon to suppress your vote.

Donald Trump has built a dangerous second-term playbook on a familiar myth: that noncitizens are stealing our elections. It’s not true. But that hasn’t stopped Trump and MAGA Republicans from using it to justify sweeping new laws that make it harder for American citizens to vote.

The Myth is Being Weaponized, Again

The Trump Regime’s 2025 immigration plan calls for mass deportations, detention camps, and the largest domestic roundup in modern history – one so sweeping they’ve even detained citizens and deported them in some cases.

This builds on the far-right’s longstanding use of false claims that immigrants are voting illegally. In reality, federal law already bars noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and no state permits noncitizen voting in federal races. It’s not just illegal – it’s extraordinarily rare.

But that hasn’t stopped Trump, Republicans in Congress, and election denier activists from supporting a new bill called the SAVE Act, which they say is needed to stop a nonexistent wave of noncitizen voting. In reality, the SAVE Act would:

• Force Americans to show specific government documents in person to register to vote

• Effectively end registration by mail, online, or through voter registration drives

• Open up local election officials to potential federal prosecution

• Compel flawed voter purges

It’s a coordinated effort that pushes false claims as the reason to pass a bill that could block millions of citizens from voting.

And Trump has already said the quiet part out loud: he believes states are “a function of the federal government.” That's wrong. The Constitution is clear – Congress and the states run elections, not the president.

But Trump wants to use executive power to take control of elections and block Americans from voting – it’s a clear move to protect Republicans’ majority in Congress from the accountability of fair elections.

What The Evidence Shows

The myth of noncitizen voting collapses under the weight of the facts.

A 2017 report from the Brennan Center reviewed 42 jurisdictions and found that 40 reported zero suspected cases of noncitizens voting. In the two remaining areas, only 30 possible cases were found out of 23.5 million votes cast. That’s about 0.0001%. Statistically speaking, Americans are more likely to be struck by lightning in their lifetime than noncitizens are to be voting.

The Brennan Center has also reviewed many other studies that come to similar conclusions, that noncitizen voting is “vanishingly rare,” based on evidence and data.

In Georgia, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger conducted a citizenship audit of the state’s 8.2 million voters in 2024. The result? Just 20 possible cases. That’s 0.002%, an error rate so small it’s virtually nonexistent.

Even the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank that was the lead architect of Project 2025 and supports the SAVE Act, couldn’t find evidence to support these far-right claims. Despite years of compiling alleged fraud cases, they found just 85 cases where people who were not citizens voted in 2 billion votes cast over the past 20 years.

Inside MAGA’s Closed-Door Admissions

The truth is, even MAGA insiders know the threat is fake.

On CNN, Trump ally Scott Jennings straight-up admitted the far-right myth of noncitizen voting, saying: “Illegal aliens? They don’t vote anyway.”

In a private 2024 training session, a Republican National Committee election integrity official told poll watchers in Pennsylvania that noncitizen voting is “nearly impossible.”

But that hasn’t stopped the rhetoric or its use to support restrictive changes to voting and election laws. In fact, the myth goes back decades, but there’s a strong example from Trump’s first term that drives home the extent of the lie.

Recycled Hoax With a New Target

During his first term in 2017, Trump created a White House commission to investigate alleged voter fraud after losing the popular vote. He named then-Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach – one of the country’s most notorious promoters of anti-immigrant election disinformation – to lead it. The commission failed to find evidence of widespread voting by noncitizens.

Now, Trump’s allies are dusting off the same playbook – with more aggressive tools.

The SAVE Act, written with help from far-right election denier activist Cleta Mitchell, would force millions of Americans to jump through bureaucratic hoops just to vote. Remember Mitchell advised Trump on his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, was on his infamous phone call in which he pressured Georgia’s top election official to "find" enough votes to declare him the winner after he lost, and has expressed frustration about college students being able to easily cast their ballots.

Mitchell is the architect of the far-right’s voter suppression playbook – and now she’s helped craft the SAVE Act to sow chaos, suppress turnout, and create a federal hammer that MAGA extremists can wield against election officials who don’t bend the knee.

The Stakes Are Clear

The real danger isn’t noncitizen voting. It’s politicians using that myth to attack the very foundation of our democracy.

Our elections are already secure. What we need to secure now is the right of every eligible voter to make their voice heard.

Here’s how you can help:

• Share this post with your friends, family, and community

• Call your U.S. Senators and urge them to oppose the SAVE Act: (202) 224-3121

• Check your voter registration status and encourage others to do the same

Disinformation is the tool. Voter suppression is the goal. But together, we can fight back.

Your voice matters. Your vote has power.

Fair Fight Team

Paid for by Fair Fight, www.fairfight.com, not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.