The DOJ has failed to respond to a congressional request for answers regarding the investigation and prosecution of cases of illegal immigrants registering to vote. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, led his congressional colleagues in sending a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland concerning the DOJ’s failure to investigate. 

“As of today, there has been no response from you or your Department regarding the inquiry on July 12, 2024, seeking information on efforts undertaken by your Department to enforce laws prohibiting non-citizen voting,” wrote lawmakers. “Since the initial letter, several more concerning reports have been released by state officials indicating that a large number of non-citizens appear on their voter rolls.” 

Lawmakers outlined ten questions in the letter for which they were seeking answers and gave the DOJ a deadline of October 16; that deadline has long passed, and the DOJ has not responded. They also asserted, with the election fast approaching, the DOJ’s lack of action and failure to provide information regarding efforts to promote public trust and confidence in elections is particularly alarming. 

During the recent vice-presidential debate, Sen. JD Vance, R-OH, the VP candidate on the Republican ticket, said that there are “20, 25 million illegal aliens who are here in the country.”

In the letter to the DOJ, lawmakers outlined several states where significant numbers of voters have been removed due to their noncitizen status. 

According to a recent press release, the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) has removed almost 750,000 voters since 2023. These removals were attributed to several reasons, and the exact number removed due to a non-citizen status is not available from the board of elections. “Non-US citizens” and “successful voter challenge” were lumped into the “other” category, with 980 removed voters in this category.

Additionally, the RNC and the NCGOP filed a lawsuit against the NCSBE alleging 225,000 voters failed to provide HAVA documents, which means they could not provide documentation that includes proof of citizenship. HAVA refers to the Help America Vote Act. Following Monday’s hearing, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals will soon hand down a decision.

This is not the only lawsuit against the NCSBE concerning voter registration of non-citizens.

Earlier this year, a lawsuit was filed asserting that the NCSBE did not comply with SB 747, regarding removing non-citizens from voting rolls. NCSBE spokesman Patrick Gannon told the Carolina Journal that the NCSBE has “worked diligently” to comply with the law. Nine people were identified and removed from voter rolls who were excused from jury duty due to their non-citizen status. North Carolina Asian Americans Together and El Pueblo, represented by the Elias Law group, filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

The issue of non-citizens voting is especially relevant considering the constitutional amendment reinforcing citizen-only voting, which appears on this year’s ballot.

The current language in the state constitution reads: “Every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized, 18 years of age, and possessing the qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people of the State, except as herein otherwise provided (Article VI, Section I).”

If this amendment passes, the new language in the state constitution would read, as outlined in HB 1074, filed by Speaker Moore earlier this year:

“Only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age and possessing the qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people of the State, except as herein otherwise provided.”  

A May poll of likely voters conducted by Remington Research Group showed that 89% believe that only US citizens should vote in North Carolina, and 87% supported a state constitutional amendment to appear on the November ballot that would clarify that only US Citizens are eligible to vote in state and local elections in North Carolina. Additionally, the poll found that 85% indicated passing a citizen-only voting amendment would be important, with 72% indicating “very important,” and 13% choosing “somewhat important.” 

“I think if voters have the opportunity to go to the ballot box and make their say known on an issue that touches illegal immigration, which is […] very, very much top of mind, along with inflation, in the voters’ minds — I think they will,” Sen. Brad Overcash, R-Gaston, told the Carolina Journal, earlier this year. “I don’t think they’ll be surprised, and I think they’d be delighted to have the opportunity to weigh in and change their constitution in that respect.”

Similar initiatives in six other states, including Colorado, passed with overwhelming support for a constitutional amendment allowing citizen-only voting. Ohio has the highest percentage of support at 77%. 

“The citizen-only voting amendment will likely pass, easily,” Dr. Andy Jackson, Director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity, told the Carolina Journal. “Similar constitutional amendments have gone before voters in six states since 2018 and all have passed comfortably. The closest was in blue-leaning Colorado, where it passed 63-37 in 2020. Polling has shown similar lopsided margins in favor of the amendment in North Carolina. I expect media outlets will call the result of that vote before any of the statewide candidate races.”