The Heritage Foundation: Only 99 Cases of Noncitizen Voting Since 1982

Action Item: Stop the SAVE Act—Ask Your Senator to Reject Trump and MAGA's Attack on Women’s Voting Rights

For more than a decade amid Republican bluster about widespread noncitizen voting, the Heritage Foundation has been investigating and documenting such cases. And according to its own dataset, from 1982 to 2025 there have been only 99 documented cases of noncitizens voting in U.S. elections.

But don’t take our word for it—explore their data directly at this link: Explore the Heritage Foundation Data

Over 43 years, just 99 cases nationwide.

That’s an average of roughly 2.3 cases per year since 1982.

In 2024 there was just one documented case of noncitizen voting. In 2023, there was also only one documented case of noncitizen voting. In 2022, there were two. That’s it.

Which is why both left-leaning and conservative organizations, including the Heritage Foundation, have consistently found rates of noncitizen voting to be near zero. It is virtually nonexistent—and a manufactured nonissue.

A Trojan Horse to Nationalize Elections

Over the last decade, Donald Trump and Republican leaders have doubled down on the conspiracy theory that large numbers of noncitizens are voting. They have used this fabricated threat to justify increasingly harsh voting restrictions.

They claim that noncitizens are flooding voter rolls, illegally swinging elections to favor Democrats—and that the only “solution” is to require proof of citizenship.

The data tells a very different story.

Enter the SAVE America Act: a nationwide voter suppression system disguised as “election security.” It introduces new documentation requirements for a law that has existed for decades. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 already explicitly prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections.

On its surface, the bill claims to protect election integrity. In reality, it would fundamentally restructure how Americans register and vote, creating one of the most restrictive federal voting regimes in modern history.

If enacted, it would impose new documentation mandates, expand federal surveillance of voter rolls, and erect barriers that would inevitably disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.

The consequences are easy to predict. Millions of Americans lack immediate access to certified birth certificates, valid passports, or updated records. Elderly citizens born at home, Native Americans born on reservations, women and trans people who changed their names, naturalized citizens awaiting replacement papers, low-income families unable to afford document fees, and disaster survivors who lost records would all face new obstacles.

But one of the most concerning features is how deeply the SAVE Act embeds immigration and homeland security agencies into the voting process. DHS becomes a central gatekeeper of voter eligibility. Data sharing is normalized. Flagged voters may trigger removal investigations.

Voting—a core constitutional right—becomes entangled with federal surveillance systems never designed for election administration.

This is a profound shift in how democracy is governed.

In an interview with Dan Bongino, Donald Trump suggested that the GOP should nationalize elections in 15 states that he lost in 2020, arguing that states are merely:

“agents of the federal government to count the votes. If they can’t count the votes legally and honestly, then somebody else should take over.”

In other words, when voters reject him, he believes their states should lose control over their elections.

Federalizing Voter Surveillance

To enforce the new requirements, the SAVE Act creates a national voter verification system that relies on federal surveillance databases:

• States would be required to routinely cross-check voter rolls against records held by the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration, and other federal agencies.

• Federal departments would be legally required to respond to verification requests within 24 hours.

• Agencies would be compelled to share voter data across departments, expanding interagency monitoring.

• If a voter is flagged as potentially ineligible, immigration authorities would be directed to open an investigation.

• Voting eligibility would become intertwined with immigration enforcement infrastructure.

This is nationalization and surveillance.

The Blatant Lies of the GOP

Representative Chip Roy frames this bill as a response to Democrats “wanting noncitizens to vote in elections.” Yet even the conservative movement’s own mothership institution—the Heritage Foundation—has shown through its own data that this is a nonissue.

Let’s be clear about what this really is: an effort by Chip Roy and the GOP to remove millions of women—the group facing the greatest documentation barriers—from the voter rolls.

According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress (CAP) as many as 69 million American women have taken their spouse’s name and do not possess a birth certificate reflecting their current legal name.

Meanwhile, repeated studies, audits, and investigations reach the same conclusion: noncitizen voting is vanishingly rare.

The SAVE Act does not address a real problem. It treats every citizen as a suspect and shifts the burden of proof from the state to the individual. In plain terms, it transforms voting from a right the government facilitates into a privilege citizens must constantly re-prove.

This is not election security. It is structural voter suppression, implemented through paperwork, databases, and fear of liability.

It does not protect democracy. It constricts it.

Brass Tacks

At the center of the bill is a nationwide requirement that all federal voter registrants provide documentary proof of citizenship. Self-attestation—used for decades—would no longer suffice.

Applicants would need specific documents such as passports, naturalization certificates, or military records paired with birth documentation. Many common IDs would no longer qualify.

The bill applies this requirement to every method of registration. Whether someone registers at the DMV, through a public assistance agency, by mail, or in person, proof of citizenship becomes mandatory. Even voters who submit valid mail-in registration forms would be required to appear in person later to show their documents before being approved.

In practice, this eliminates true mail-based registration and inserts an additional bureaucratic hurdle that disproportionately impacts rural voters, people with disabilities, working-class families, students, and seniors.

Without these documents, registration would be denied.

At the ballot box, the bill imposes new ID requirements:

• Physical photo ID required

• Must show proof of citizenship

• Must include a government ID number or last four SSN digits

• Digital IDs prohibited

• Absentee voters must submit ID copies twice

Many states do not issue IDs that meet these criteria, meaning millions of voters would need to obtain new documents simply to participate. For many, registering or voting would become a months-long bureaucratic ordeal.

Research from the Brennan Center for Justice shows that over 21 million Americans lack ready access to these documents.

The bill also mandates aggressive voter purges based on vague “verified information,” inviting database errors and wrongful removals. History shows such purges routinely disenfranchise eligible voters. This bill federalizes that risk.

Although a limited fallback process exists, it is largely illusory. Officials face liability for approving applications without full documentation.

Most will deny rather than risk punishment.

Action Item: Call Your Senator Today

Unfortunately, the SAVE America Act cleared the House.

Our voices matter.

Call your senator and tell them to vote NO.

If you don’t know who your senator is, you can find their information by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or at this link: Senate.gov

Or use this chart, the number to call: 202-224-ext of your senator.
Example: Senator Alsobrooks’ (D-MD) number is 202-224-4524.

Use this script:

“Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [City and State]. I’m calling to ask Senator [Name] to vote NO on the SAVE America Act. The Heritage Foundation’s own data shows that noncitizen voting is a nonissue. It is already rare and illegal. This bill is voter suppression disguised as election security. It would block millions of eligible Americans—especially women whose names don’t match their original documents—from participating in our democracy. It solves a problem that doesn’t exist while creating real barriers for lawful voters. Please protect our right to vote by opposing this harmful legislation. Thank you.”

From here, share this article, amplify the message, and make sure everyone in your network is registered to vote. Together, we can defend democracy and push back against voter suppression.

If you’re new to this Substack, welcome.

For more than a year we’ve been digging into the statistically absurd 2024 election data—and last week, we brought everything full circle: The Epstein Files: The Real Reason Trump Had To Steal the 2024 Election

Now, with the primaries just ahead, we’re being forced to proactively prepare for these elections—while still using the same compromised voting equipment.

We’re working on something for the midterms. Stay tuned.

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Hold on to your hope. This is not left vs. right—it’s bottom vs. top. We don’t need permission to enforce the Constitution. We just need courage.

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