The Crackdown Begins
New York needs to pay attention because what’s happening in Georgia could easily end up here. The Department of Justice in the U.S. has just declared that 28 people in 12 distinct states face charges for interfering with elections or voting illegally in federal contests. Far from a minor incident, this represents a huge, organized effort by the Trump administration to guarantee election integrity ahead of this year’s midterm elections. We are seeing a direct message that noncitizens voting in our elections will face serious consequences, including deportation.
On Monday, the DOJ announced charges against 12 individuals relating to election crimes in seven different states. This follows a Sept. 18 announcement where 16 people, including three in Georgia, were charged for the same offenses. The list of countries these alleged offenders come from includes Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some even voted multiple times, which is a clear sign that the system has holes big enough to drive a truck through.
The Evidence and The Warning
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security made it clear that this is a joint effort to stop the dilution of votes for actual U.S. citizens. “DHS and DOJ are laser focused on prosecuting and removing aliens who vote and preventing the dilution of the votes of U.S. citizens,” the spokesperson told the Daily Signal. The warning to lawbreakers remains blunt and explicit: “Our message to aliens who vote in American elections is clear: We will find you, arrest you, and you will face the consequences, including criminal charges and deportation.”
One of the accused is Pauline Lewis, 65, a suspected noncitizen from Antigua and Barbuda, who was held for casting a ballot in a federal election. Next is Gabriel Covarrubias, a 44-year-old suspected noncitizen from Mexico. These aren’t abstract numbers; these are real people in real states breaking the law. As the DHS official stated, “Only Americans should elect American leaders.” It’s a simple rule that seems to be getting ignored in too many places.
Digital Signatures: A Fix or a Loophole?
While the DOJ is hunting down illegal voters, a different battle is brewing over how we sign petitions. A conservative group, the Prosperity for US Foundation, is pushing for digital signatures to replace the old “wet ink” method on ballot initiatives. Bob Carlstrom, the foundation’s executive director, argues that modernizing these laws could actually reduce fraud. He stated to the Daily Signal, “You can use a digital signature to register to vote,” and further noted, “If it can be used to verify voter registration, a digital signature should be used to verify signers for a ballot initiative.”
Carlstrom’s group asserts that authenticated digital signatures, needing backup details such as the final four digits of a Social Security number, would prevent fraudsters from slipping through more easily. They argue that “Fraud is significantly higher with wet signatures.” Currently, 26 states allow some form of citizen-initiated ballot measures, and this proposal could change how those signatures are verified across the board. It’s a tech-driven solution to a problem that has plagued local elections for decades.
Here is the if the feds are this aggressive in Georgia and 11 other states, New York better get its house in order. We cannot have noncitizens deciding the fate of our schools, our streets, or our safety. The DOJ’s action proves that the government is finally waking up to the scale of the problem. We need to demand the same level of scrutiny here in the Empire State.
This is opinion and commentary from the RapForMayor team.
