Expert: How Pennsylvania Can Address Noncitizen Voting

Published On: October 25th, 2017

(HARRISBURG, PA.) – October 25, 2017: The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) today offered guidance in how Pennsylvania officers can measure the scale of noncitizen registration and voting.

PILF Litigation Counsel Noel H. Johnson shared a multi-point proposal before the State Government Committee today regarding steps that can be taken to determine the true scale of the problem—an issue that largely remains unclear at this time.

  1. Demand lists of aliens who have been discovered and removed for citizenship defects across the Commonwealth.
  2. Disclose the lists of individuals whom were improperly exposed to voter registration prompts while conducting business with PennDOT.
  3. Review voting histories for those determined to be noncitizens to better discern those who claimed no knowledge of their voter status versus those who intended to participate.
  4. Debate and implement one or more of the variety of options available to help verify claims of U.S. citizenship and eligibility to participate in the electorate. At the very least, stop offering voter registration opportunities to known Green Card holders.

A copy of Mr. Johnson’s full testimony may be accessed here.

In October 2016, the PILF released a study finding 86 noncitizens were registered to vote in Philadelphia between 2013 and 2015. In September 2017, the City of Philadelphia confirmed and expanded upon these findings, announcing that “hundreds” of noncitizens were registered at various points in time.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation has built a record case studies uncovering noncitizen voter registration and voting in a growing number of states.

  • In October 2016, PILF found 86 noncitizens registered to vote in Philadelphia. Forty of those voted in at least one election.
  • In May 2017, PILF found 5,556 voters removed by the Commonwealth of Virginia as “non-citizens”. Roughly 33% voted. This research followed an initial October 2016 sampling that yielded 1,000 noncitizens.
  • In September 2017, PILF found 616 noncitizens within 11 New Jersey counties’ voter registration systems.

The PILF is led by J. Christian Adams, a Commissioner for the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.

Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections.

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Public Interest Legal Foundation