Iowa sees limited impact from noncitizen voting concerns
Iowa election officials say they have found limited instances of people voting without citizenship in the state, reinforcing their belief that the state’s election system is secure.
The Iowa Secretary of State’s office said Thursday that the Division of Criminal Investigation found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in 2020 as a result of a new law requiring the agency to run citizenship checks on registered voters.
The division initially flagged 27 people who had obtained a driver’s license and identified as noncitizens but later registered to vote. Officials said only three individuals should not have been registered but were mistakenly added to voter rolls due to errors in the verification process.
Secretary of State Paul Pate said two noncitizens with legal status accidentally registered to vote when they got driver’s licenses, and a third registered after the agency mistakenly entered a citizenship code incorrectly.
Pate stressed that each of the individuals made mistakes without any criminal intent. He noted that they had provided proper documentation to the Department of Transportation to get driver’s licenses but mistakenly filled out voter registration forms.
The division’s findings were a relief to election officials who had prepared for major problems when the law took effect. County auditors had gone through thousands of voter files during the summer to make sure that only U.S. citizens were registered to vote, in addition to sending out letters to suspected noncitizens and behind-the-scenes work conducted by state and local officials.
The limited instances are far fewer than the claims made by former President Donald Trump and his supporters, who have alleged widespread voter fraud without evidence. Iowa was among the states where close elections in November have prompted recounts and audits fueled by those allegations.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers and election administrators introduced the law last year to address concerns that some noncitizens were voting. The law gave authorities more power to cooperate across agencies and require the citizenship checks.
Ali Almani of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa said he believes instances of noncitizen voting in Iowa have always been rare and are now even rarer. He said the majority of cases were the result of confusion or mistakes made by legal immigrants who are eligible to obtain driver’s licenses and other official identification but cannot vote.
Almani praised state and local officials for treating the matter seriously and fairly investigating the claims.