Grand Canyon Times

The Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project has sparked controversy with a new video posted on X that features interviews with Spanish speaking residents in Phoenix that admit to being both non-citizens and registered voters who support Kamala Harris for president.  

“BREAKING: Non-Citizens in AZ Admit Being Registered to VOTE,” the Oversight Project said on X. “Footage obtained by @realmuckraker shows that at one apartment complex in Phoenix, AZ, 6 non-citizens admitted to being registered to vote. Non-citizens expressed support for Kamala Harris, and some plan to vote.”

Video footage shows a reporter from the Oversight Project knocking on doors at the Los Vecinos apartment complex asking those who answer, “Just out of curiosity, are you registered to vote?” Several individuals said yes, acknowledging they registered at their workplace. One man said he registered at his local grocery store, with another woman saying she registered with someone who visited the apartments. 

Everyone in the video said they support Harris for president over former President Donald Trump. 

“Arizona has recently become the center of election integrity concerns,” the Oversight Project’s reporter said in the video's intro. “We went to Arizona to investigate the matter ourselves, and the responses we obtained destroy the narrative that non-citizens participating in United States elections is a conspiracy theory.”

During the interviews, one individual of six total featured, when asked about their voting plans, responded, “Yes, I plan to vote this year,” while another confirmed their preference for Harris, stating, “I would vote for Kamala, well, yeah.”

The report underscores growing concerns about election integrity in Arizona, a state that was a focal point during the 2020 presidential election, decided by a mere 11,000 votes. 

The Oversight Project's findings challenge assertions from mainstream media, including the Washington Post labeling concerns about non-citizens voting as "dishonest," Rolling Stone calling the issue "nonexistent," and PBS describing it as a "myth." 

The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, which oversees voter rolls for the county, which includes the city of Phoenix said in a statement to Grand Canyon Times that voter rolls are cleaned up on daily basis and that “[a]nyone who registers to vote does so under penalty of law and attests that the information provided is true and accurate.” 

“In the event that our office discovers someone who is unlawfully on our voter rolls, those cases are referred to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office,” Communications Director for the Recorder’s Office, Taylor Kinnerup said in an email to Grand Canyon Times. 

Kinnerup also provided a link to a post on X from the personal account of Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, which said, “They don’t” in response to the whether the names of people from the Oversight Project exist on county voter rolls. Richer linked to a post on X from the Oversight Project noting their reporters were unable to find the names for the six illegal immigrants they interviewed.

“We attempted to locate these individuals on AZ voter rolls and were unable to find them,” the post reads. 

“Non-citizens have shoddy address history records and often use fake documents and names. It is unclear exactly what information these individuals gave when registering to vote.” 

In August Richer was sued by America First Legal for allegedly not adequately checking and purging voter rolls of non-citizens. 

The lawsuit alleges that Richer is violating state and federal laws by failing to investigate the eligibility of over 26,000 individuals who registered using a federal form, which does not require proof of citizenship. 

"Under Recorder Stephen Richer, voter list maintenance has remained a top priority, removing more than 400,000 voters from the rolls since January 2021," Richer’s office said in a statement at the time. "As an administrative office, we will continue to follow the letter of the law."

The legal action reflects broader concerns about election integrity, with the group arguing that non-citizen voting could influence the outcome of elections in Arizona.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship for voters registering in statewide elections, overruling a lower court's decision that invalidated part of the law. 

While the ruling mandates that Arizona officials reject voter registration applications lacking satisfactory evidence of citizenship for state races, it does not extend this requirement to federal registration forms. 

Current federal law allows for voter registration based solely on an applicant's attestation of citizenship, despite concerns that non-citizens may be voting in elections. 

Republican lawmakers have advocated for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act to address potential illegal registrations after welfare offices and various agencies across at least 46 U.S. states were found to be providing voter registration forms to illegal aliens without requiring proof of citizenship. 

Proponents of the SAVE Act argue it is necessary to ensure election integrity and to prevent non-citizens from influencing outcomes. Despite the bill's approval in the House Administration Committee, its future in the Democrat-controlled Senate remains uncertain.

While mainstream media has downplayed the problem of non-citizens being registered to vote, several states have announced voter purges of illegal aliens, according to the Washington Examiner. 

In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced the removal of over 6,300 non-citizens from voting rolls, emphasizing that only American citizens should decide elections. 

In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott reported that more than 6,500 noncitizens had been removed since 2021, including 1,930 who voted and whose records were turned to the Texas Attorney General's Office for potential prosecutions. 

In Alabama, Secretary of State Wes Allen indicated that 3,251 individuals were switched to inactive status after being identified as non-citizens. 

However, in California, 21 of the state’s 58 counties have removed very few voters since 2020, potentially violating federal law. In contrast, San Diego County removed 130,050 registrations during the same period, highlighting the disparity in compliance among counties. 

California’s lack of statewide voter roll maintenance has arisen concerns about compliance with federal law and potential voter fraud.

Despite claims from Democrats that such fraud is rare, the Washington Examiner notes that even a small number of fraudulent votes could significantly impact close elections.

Earlier this year a non-citizen green card holder in Manhattan, New York, Abdul Rahman Kargbo, was outed for voting illegally in city elections for 13 years, having registered despite clearly marking his non-citizen status. 

The New York City Board of Elections acknowledged the registration error, attributing it to a lack of verification procedures, and referred the case to the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

The discovery of illegal aliens on state voter rolls across the country spans recent history in swing states.  

In 2019, The Washington Times reported 11,198 non-citizens from Pennsylvania’s voter rolls after the administration of Governor Tom Wolf acknowledged their ineligibility. 

The same year in Texas nearly 100,000 non-citizens were identified on voter rolls.