By Lauren Eagan

During the current election campaign, false news has circulated claiming that undocumented immigrants and many others vote illegally. These claims have been thoroughly investigated and debunked from various fronts. For instance, the nonpartisan policy and law institute, the Brennan Center, demonstrated that headlines stating “many undocumented immigrants vote illegally” are actually false.

While this may happen, it is not due to a large-scale fraud strategy but rather due to administrative errors. In any case, if it does happen, the cases are very few.

According to a study by the aforementioned center, after analyzing 42 jurisdictions with a high population of non-citizens, only 30 cases of alleged non-citizen votes were referred for further investigation or prosecution, out of 23.5 million votes cast—that is, 0.0001 percent of all votes.

When filling out a federal registration form, by law, the person is required to swear under penalty of perjury that they are a U.S. citizen. However, it is possible for undocumented immigrants to register to vote by accident in cases like the following:

Some states, such as California, Colorado, and Illinois, among others, issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants. When they go to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), they are asked to check the box to register, and it is possible that, without understanding what it means, they check the box to register as voters.

When applying for food assistance or help from nonprofit organizations, they may be asked if they want to register to vote, and without knowing or by mistake, they may check the box.

Federal forms only ask that you affirm that you are a U.S. citizen or you will be committing the crime of perjury. Many immigrants may believe they also have the right to vote once they obtain a green card, which is not the case either, so it is possible they do not know they are committing fraud.

At Eagan Immigration, we have found that immigrants strive to make their path to residency as secure as possible. That’s why we believe there is little chance they would risk their immigration future by registering to vote.

Living with uncertainty is a major source of stress for many. In the months leading up to the election, it is likely that uncertainty will only worsen. Finding the path to stability and legal status may not be as difficult as it seems, and the sooner one takes the first step, the better.

Published originally in La Prensa