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Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nDonald Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly claimed that the Democrats are planning to get illegal immigrants to vote in the US election. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur elections are bad, and a lot of these illegal immigrants coming in, they’re trying to get them to vote,\u201d Trump said during the presidential debate with Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n
BBC Verify has identified more than 100 paid-for ads on Facebook and Instagram posted by Republicans since the start of September focusing on the issue.<\/p>\n
It is illegal for a non-US citizen to vote in a national election, but studies suggest cases of this actually happening are very rare. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
What laws are in place to stop illegal immigrants voting?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\nThe Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996<\/a> prohibits non-citizens – which includes illegal immigrants – from voting in federal elections.<\/p>\nThe punishment includes a year in prison, a fine, and possibly deportation.<\/p>\n
Every state is required to use a common registration<\/a> form which requires people to confirm they are US citizens, under penalty of perjury for false claims, but does not require documentary proof.<\/p>\n\u201cThat first step of having to tick a box saying you\u2019re a citizen to register to vote is a huge deterrent for illegal immigrants, as it\u2019s hugely risky to lie,\u201d says Jasleen Singh, a voting expert at the liberal policy think tank Brennan Center for Justice.<\/p>\n
In many states, voter rolls are cross-referenced with citizenship and immigration services, death certificates, and postal records to make sure that people who are non-citizens, dead, or live out of state are not registered to vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the polls, there\u2019s a list of eligible voters, and if a non-citizen turns up, they\u2019ll be turned away or told to cast a provisional ballot which will only be accepted if they can provide proof of citizenship,\u201d says Prof Ronald Hayduk, a voting rights expert at San Francisco State University.<\/p>\n
Non-citizens are not allowed to vote in state-wide elections either. <\/p>\n
However, some municipalities in California, Maryland, Vermont and Washington DC do allow them to vote in certain local elections, such as for school boards. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
What evidence is there that illegal immigrants vote?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\nA number of studies, both from conservative and left-leaning organisations, suggest instances of illegal immigrants voting in US federal elections are very rare.<\/p>\n
One by the Brennan Center for Justice interviewed 44 election officials who worked across 12 states during the 2016 election.<\/p>\n
It found that out of 23.5 million votes counted in these states,<\/b> an estimated 30 suspected incidents of non-citizens voting were referred for further investigation.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s about 0.0001% of all votes cast. <\/p>\n
An analysis of a database which collected election fraud cases<\/a> between 1999 and 2023 by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group, found 77 instances of non-citizens voting<\/a>.<\/p>\nA number of other reports, including by the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank, entitled \u2018Non-citizens Don\u2019t Illegally Vote in Detectable Numbers<\/a>\u2019, come to similar conclusions. <\/p>\n“According to many sources of evidence, the number of non-citizens who vote in elections is very small,” says Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute who’s written a number of reports on voter fraud.<\/p>\n
“It’s not zero, some people slip through the cracks for various reasons, but it’s nowhere near at the level to impact the outcome of an election.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
What evidence do Republicans cite?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\nThe Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a Republican proposal which would require people to prove their citizenship when registering to vote, has been rejected in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
Republican lawmakers continue to push for more citizenship requirements.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a number of states who have done audits of their voter rolls and found thousands of non-citizens,\u201d the lead Republican in the House, Mike Johnson, told CNN.<\/p>\n
He highlighted Ohio, Pennsylvania and Georgia – three states where polls show a tight race between Trump and Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n
In Ohio, a review called for by Republican officials in the state<\/a>, found that out of about eight million registered voters, there were 597 cases which have been referred for \u201cfurther review and potential prosecution\u201d for non-citizens registering to vote.<\/p>\nIn Pennsylvania, a glitch with electronic touchscreens in state drivers’ licence centres wrongly showed non-citizens the option to register to vote while getting new or updated licences.<\/p>\n
This glitch was in the system between 2006 and 2017, and has since been resolved.<\/p>\n
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996<\/a> prohibits non-citizens – which includes illegal immigrants – from voting in federal elections.<\/p>\n The punishment includes a year in prison, a fine, and possibly deportation.<\/p>\n Every state is required to use a common registration<\/a> form which requires people to confirm they are US citizens, under penalty of perjury for false claims, but does not require documentary proof.<\/p>\n \u201cThat first step of having to tick a box saying you\u2019re a citizen to register to vote is a huge deterrent for illegal immigrants, as it\u2019s hugely risky to lie,\u201d says Jasleen Singh, a voting expert at the liberal policy think tank Brennan Center for Justice.<\/p>\n In many states, voter rolls are cross-referenced with citizenship and immigration services, death certificates, and postal records to make sure that people who are non-citizens, dead, or live out of state are not registered to vote.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the polls, there\u2019s a list of eligible voters, and if a non-citizen turns up, they\u2019ll be turned away or told to cast a provisional ballot which will only be accepted if they can provide proof of citizenship,\u201d says Prof Ronald Hayduk, a voting rights expert at San Francisco State University.<\/p>\n Non-citizens are not allowed to vote in state-wide elections either. <\/p>\n However, some municipalities in California, Maryland, Vermont and Washington DC do allow them to vote in certain local elections, such as for school boards. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n A number of studies, both from conservative and left-leaning organisations, suggest instances of illegal immigrants voting in US federal elections are very rare.<\/p>\n One by the Brennan Center for Justice interviewed 44 election officials who worked across 12 states during the 2016 election.<\/p>\n It found that out of 23.5 million votes counted in these states,<\/b> an estimated 30 suspected incidents of non-citizens voting were referred for further investigation.<\/p>\n That\u2019s about 0.0001% of all votes cast. <\/p>\n An analysis of a database which collected election fraud cases<\/a> between 1999 and 2023 by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group, found 77 instances of non-citizens voting<\/a>.<\/p>\n A number of other reports, including by the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank, entitled \u2018Non-citizens Don\u2019t Illegally Vote in Detectable Numbers<\/a>\u2019, come to similar conclusions. <\/p>\n “According to many sources of evidence, the number of non-citizens who vote in elections is very small,” says Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute who’s written a number of reports on voter fraud.<\/p>\n “It’s not zero, some people slip through the cracks for various reasons, but it’s nowhere near at the level to impact the outcome of an election.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a Republican proposal which would require people to prove their citizenship when registering to vote, has been rejected in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n Republican lawmakers continue to push for more citizenship requirements.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a number of states who have done audits of their voter rolls and found thousands of non-citizens,\u201d the lead Republican in the House, Mike Johnson, told CNN.<\/p>\n He highlighted Ohio, Pennsylvania and Georgia – three states where polls show a tight race between Trump and Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n In Ohio, a review called for by Republican officials in the state<\/a>, found that out of about eight million registered voters, there were 597 cases which have been referred for \u201cfurther review and potential prosecution\u201d for non-citizens registering to vote.<\/p>\n In Pennsylvania, a glitch with electronic touchscreens in state drivers’ licence centres wrongly showed non-citizens the option to register to vote while getting new or updated licences.<\/p>\n This glitch was in the system between 2006 and 2017, and has since been resolved.<\/p>\nWhat evidence is there that illegal immigrants vote?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
What evidence do Republicans cite?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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