Voter registration fraud: how is citizenship checked?

Question

This question is motivated by the recent discussions about "voter fraud" and "rigged election" in the media. I am not asking about the extent of actual voter fraud, but about how easy it would be to commit fraud. There are many potential types of fraud, but let me focus on one: suppose you're not a US citizen, and wish to register and cast a vote at a presidential election (illegally of course). How easy would it be to do that?

I have tried to answer the question myself, and of course the answer will depend on the state. Let me consider for instance Massachusetts, which is the state where I live, and should be a good representative of the states that do not have law considered as limiting votes by putting excessive requirements. To vote in Massachussets, you must be registered, which
can be done in three ways: online, by mail, in person. By mail seems the easiest way, because you need to give your name and address, and either a copy of a government ID, or the last four digits of your SSN, or any lease, bill, etc with your name and address or it. I was surprised that there it is not required to give a document showing that you are indeed a citizen. Hence my question:

Does the state (MA for instance, or any other you may have information on) try to check if you're a citizen when you register for voting? If so, how?

This can be split into many subquestions. Does the state check if the four digits of the SSN you give matches the name you give? Assuming it does, can the state check if a person, known to it by name and SSN, is a citizen or not? If yes, how? Is there a federal registry of all citizens, that the individual states can access to? What if instead of giving your last four number of SSN, you just give a document with your name or address (which seems trivial to fake). Will the state check if the person trying to register exists, and if this person is a citizen? How?

[I am French, and a permanent resident in the US. I am a little bit surprised about how these things are organized are, because the rule in France is that when you ask for something reserved to citizen (registering for voting, getting a passport, etc.) you yourself have to provide the proof that you are indeed a citizen, by furnishing either a birth certificate showing that you're born in France and that one of your parent was either French or born in France at the time you were born (that's the condition for being French by birth), or a naturalization document. There seems to be nothing of that sort in the US (in MA at least)...]

Answer 1

I'm a naturalized US Citizen (originally Canadian). As far as I know, there are three, maybe four, governmental organizations that know that I'm a US citizen:

1. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. They track me by an "A-number" (alien number) that no one else uses. They don't really care about me anymore - I'm sure I still have a file there, but...
2. The Social Security Administration. Right after you naturalize, you are advised to let the SSA know of your new status. That's because the benefits for citizens are somewhat better than for folks like Permanent Residents. I filled in a form and showed them a passport (or my naturalization certificate - I can't remember which) for proof.
3. The Department of State - I have a US Passport. This is optional, though I suspect that just about everyone who naturalizes gets a passport.
4. Maybe the Texas drivers' license folks (it's now the DMV, but that's a new name). When you get a driver's license you need to show citizenship or immigration status (for "Real ID" purposes). The thing is, I was a permanent resident when I got my first Texas driver's license. I don't think I've ever showed them my US passport.

Looking at the standard Texas voter registration application (https://webservices.sos.state.tx.us/vrapp/index.asp), it asks if you are citizen and then asks for the last four digits of your SSN or for your full driver's license number. With a name and a 4-digit SSN, they can probably get your full SSN (or possibly a small list of probable entries). From that, they might be able get your citizenship status. I'd be surprised if they can ascertain your citizenship status from your driver's license number (maybe).

I do know that Texas counties will eventually drop you from the voter rolls. My daughter moved out of state, and after three letters to them (from me) saying she didn't live in our house anymore (over a period of years), we eventually got a letter saying that they were dropping her from the rolls (of course, that was two months after she'd moved back to Texas).

Answer 2

Say you register successfully in Massachusetts through your water bill. After that you basically have nothing to worry about. The only states that are actively checking the Social Security Network are Virginia, Nevada, and Washington NCSL The only checks that are legal and would occur are the following, none of which is likely to occur.

A state may remove the name of a voter from the voter list under the following circumstances: A voter confirms in writing that he/she moved from the jurisdiction or wishes to be removed from the voter rolls. To do this a voter could: make the request directly in writing; complete a confirmation card confirming a change of address; or complete a voter registration application in a different jurisdiction and provide information about the prior registration, which can be treated as a request to cancel/transfer the prior registration.

The state receives reliable second-hand information that the voter has moved (through the United States Postal Service, for example) AND the voter doesn’t respond to a confirmation mailing sent by the state AND the voter fails to vote or appear to vote between the time the confirmation mailing was sent and the second federal general election.

The state receives reliable information that a voter is deceased.

Depending on state regulations, voters can be removed for mental incapacity or a criminal conviction (see NCSL’s Felon Voting Rights page for information on the varied state requirements for persons with felony convictions to regain voting rights).

Given the above, it's not surprising that 1000s of illegal immigrants are on the voter registration rolls

Answer 3

Washington State does not check citizenship status. The Republican Sec State has tried to get legislation through the state legislature to enable the state to do this, but has been unable to get it passed. In WA, you can register to vote with a driver's license, but that license requires no citizenship check, so it follows that non-citizens can register to vote, actually vote, and have their vote counted. Without the ability to check the citizenship status of a particular voter, it would be nigh on impossible to provide evidence of fraud.

"There's no evidence" is a refrain we've heard often the past few months. Two points:

• Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
• If you don't have the ability to unearth evidence, you can't logically expect there to be any.

In my mind, any election that takes place without checking for citizenship status is illegitimate. It is the most basic of checks that must be in place to ensure the election has integrity. The US and the UK are the only two industrialized democracies that do not check for citizenship / have voter ID laws.

WA State voter registration form: https://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/elections/vrf_print_2020_english.pdf

WA State driver license identity verification requirements: https://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/idproof.html (Note that an SSN does not prove citizenship, and if you don't have an SSN, you can still get a license.)

Proving citizenship is not required for a WA driver license: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/can-undocumented-person-washington-drivers-license.html

WA Sec State pushing for citizenship check: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/proposal-would-allow-citizenship-check-for-voter-registration-in-washington/