Editor’s Note: The following article is part of our “Debunking the Lies” campaign. Leading up to the election we aim to publish articles refuting mainstream lies told about immigrants, migrants, and refugees.
Lie # 12 “… the threat of noncitizens voting in 2024.” – Attorney Cleta Mitchell
The Truth: It’s illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. The Washington Post found that less than 1% of noncitizens attempt to register to vote and even in those cases, the vast majority are considered mistakes.
There’s no doubt that the boogeyman in the 2024 elections has been immigration.
[O]ne of the reasons the Biden administration is allowing all these illegals to flood the country … taking them into counties across the country … so that they can get those people registered, [and] they can vote for them." This is stated in a two-page memo by Cleta Mitchell, a former adviser to Donald Trump.
Mitchell is not the only one circulating and repeating this lie. Trump has made the same claim on the campaign trail, as has Elon Musk, the Tesla founder and owner of X. Musk has used his social media platform to push this baseless lie. “[Democrats] are importing voters,” Musk wrote in a post about undocumented immigrants this year.
“Repeat a lie often enough, and it becomes the truth.” This is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels. Isn’t this what Trump and his cohorts are doing day in and day out?
The truth is that it’s illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and numerous studies over the years have found that it almost rarely happens. A recent study in Arizona (first reported by The Washington Post) found that less than 1% of noncitizens attempt to register to vote and even in those cases, the vast majority are considered mistakes.
Furthermore, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IRCA) prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections. And if they do, they can be fined, imprisoned or deported.
Yet, because of this lie, in the first few months of this year, 17 bills have been introduced in 12 states to make it a requirement for voters to show proof of citizenship when they vote.
Losers and Winners
Those who lose the most by legislation requiring voters to prove citizenship will be the citizens who are already discouraged by the electoral process such as “students, young people, elderly people, poor people and other groupings of people who would just not bother." (Gilda R. Daniels of the University of Baltimore).
Who wins is, to borrow a phrase from Senator Bernie Sanders, “the 1% percent.” That tiny class of billionaires will be able to further manipulate Congress and press politicians to pass legislation in favor of their economic and political interest. A good example of this is how much of our tax money goes to the Pentagon. The 2024 military budget is $883.7 billion. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon (now RTX), and Northrop Grumman are the five major corporations that have received a significant portion of Pentagon contracts.
So, don’t be fooled by the lies being told about immigrants, whether the lies are about voting or stealing jobs. It would be a good practice for all of us to examine the validity of the lie (the facts): who’s propagating it, what economic interests does it represent? In the answer to these questions you will find out what is best for the working people, regardless of color or papers.
El Tribuno del Pueblo brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: tribunodelpueblo.org. We’re all volunteers, no paid staff. Please donate at http://tribunodelpueblo.org to keep bringing you the voices of the movement because no human being is illegal.
