Can I vote for undocumented immigrants? Facts check Trump's false allegations about voting fraud

President Trump doubled his administration’s efforts to detain and deport immigrants in custody and deport immigrants after nearly a week of protests in Los Angeles against recent federal immigration law enforcement, claiming they are a major voting group in democratic cities.

“Los Angeles and other cities like this are at the heart of the Democratic Center for Power, where they use illegal foreigners to expand the voter base, cheat in elections and develop welfare states, robbing good and good salaries and the benefits from hard-working American citizens,” Trump said in Sunday's Truth Social Post.

But according to Los Angeles County election officials, that's not true at all.

“This statement is false and has no support and can only raise concern and confusion about the election process,” the Los Angeles County Registration Office said in a statement.

Mike Sanchez, a spokesman for the county’s Registration Office, said in fact, the county has appropriate safeguards to ensure that only qualified voters conduct the ballots and that all votes are calculated accurately.

How do people become registered voters in California?

The California Secretary of State said in California, there are five requirements that a person must meet to vote. The registered individual must be:

1. American citizen.
2. Residents of California.
3. At least 18 years old or above before Election Day.
4. No sentence has been served for a felony conviction.
5. No court voting mental incompetence has been found yet.

Sanchez said when a person meets the eligibility criteria, they can register to vote, which includes proof at the perjury office that they meet all eligibility requirements, including being a U.S. citizen and a resident of California.

“This statement of oath is a legal statement and is the basis of the voter registration process,” Sanchez said.

Hasson said being a non-referendum is a felony that can result in one year of jail or deportation.

Although in some cities in the United States, non-citizens can participate in local elections, such as in communities in Vermont and Maryland, participation is limited to voting in school board or city council elections.

In California, San Francisco is the only city where non-citizens can vote and are only for school boards.

How does Los Angeles County verify who votes in federal elections?

Once voters register, their personal information is verified through the state voter registration database, which is done by cross-checking the last four digits of the state motor vehicle record department or the person’s social insurance number, Sanchez said.

After the verification process is completed, voters do not have to indicate their identification when they vote in person. If verification has not been performed, voters must display proof of identity at the first vote. Acceptable forms of identification include a driver's license, a state-issued ID or passport; the California Secretary of State has a complete online listing of which documents can be brought to the voting location.

Once the place to vote is opened to voters in the county, voters must sign the roster with the election workers present, who prove their identity and qualifications.

“Election officials also conduct regular voter rolling maintenance, checking several data points, including death records for the California Department of Public Health, the Department of Social Security, the Department of Automobile and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,” the California Secretary of State told the New York Times in a statement.

For card-by-card ballots, the signature of the return envelope was compared with the documents in the voter's registration record. If the signature does not match or is missing, please contact the voter and have a chance to correct it.

“Only verified votes are accepted and calculated,” he said.

Where does the claim about voting for undocumented immigrants originate?

about immigrants who lack a lot of document votes and what Democrats have repeated over the years.

It has seeds in the racist conspiracy theory that once was fring, called the “great alternative.” According to a poll by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, one in three Americans believe: “Works are being made to replace American-born Americans to get the benefits of the election by immigrants.”

The theory gained momentum under Trump.

In 2016, Trump won the election college and presidency, but there was no universal suffrage. This was handed over to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who received about 2.9 million votes.

Trump then claimed that if there is no evidence, he would win universal suffrage if the three to five million immigrants living in the country did not vote.

“There are about 3 million votes that he lost the profit margin of the popular vote, which is why I think he chose 3 million numbers to explain his vote loss,” Hasson said.

After losing Joe Biden's reelection in 2020, Trump refocused on the lack of authorization immigrants in the 2024 campaign and was eventually voted back to the White House.

“In 2024, when I think Trump and Republicans came to the conclusion, the attack on absentee ballots is actually hurting them because people don't want to show up in person, this transition is back to immigration.”

According to Husson, voter fraud claims Echo is trying to decide on political narratives.

Researchers have repeatedly found over decades of investigation that voters’ frauds in polls actually do not exist and do not occur on a “size even in “rig” elections).

“I think one thing we’re seeing is that people who fail the election are often more likely to believe there is cheating,” Hasson said. “But Donald Trump does elevate things to the point where we see partisan division.”

But Trump hasn't been alone in fueling this theory lately. Last year, when he ran for Trump, billionaire Elon Musk repeated these claims on his social media platform.

“If Democrats get enough voters to win the election and give them something free, they will do that,” he released in September.

So, is the number of undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles growing?

Yes, but may not be consistent with the speed that once was, says Manuel Paster, a professor of sociology and American Studies at USC.

According to the California Institute of Public Policy, the immigrant population in California (including the unauthorized population) increased by 5% from 2010 to 2023 (about 500,000), compared with 14% (1.27 million) from 2000 to 2010, and 37% (2.4 million) in the 1990s.

Between 2019 and 2022, the undocumented immigrant population in most states nationwide has steadily climbed. According to the Pew Research Center, California’s decline.

Today, most new immigrants will travel to Florida, Texas and the South, rather than the high cost of California, the pastor said.

“More than 70% of our undocumented immigrants in the country have been in the country for more than a decade,” he said. “They are more likely to be part of long-established employees, parents, faith institutions.”