{"id":2217178,"date":"2024-04-10T07:33:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T11:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-a-viral-voting-claim-got-wrong-and-why-americans-are-still-right-to-be-concerned\/"},"modified":"2024-04-10T07:39:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T11:39:00","slug":"what-a-viral-voting-claim-got-wrong-and-why-americans-are-still-right-to-be-concerned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-a-viral-voting-claim-got-wrong-and-why-americans-are-still-right-to-be-concerned\/","title":{"rendered":"Debunking a Viral Voting Claim: Why Americans&#8217; Concerns Are Valid"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhat-a-viral-voting-claim-got-wrong-and-why-americans-are-still-right-to-be-concerned%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2217178&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The viral <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-this-average-american-is-voting-for-donald-trump\/\" title=\"Why This Average American Is Voting for Donald Trump\">social media post<\/a> misinterpreted Social Security data, implying a \u2064surge in voter registrations without ID in states allowing illegal immigrants to get \u2064Social Security numbers. However, experts clarify that the\u2062 data doesn&#8217;t support this\u2063 claim but raises concerns regarding \u200dcitizenship verification. Stay informed to differentiate\u200d between misinformation and factual voter registration details.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>A social media post went viral last week after interpreting Social Security Administration data to suggest a spike in voter registrations submitted without an ID in key states that also permit illegal immigrants to get Social Security numbers. That\u2019s not quite what the data means, according to election officials and election law experts, but the data still raises more concerning questions than it answers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe number of voters registering without a photo ID is SKYROCKETING in 3 key swing states: Arizona, Texas, and Pennsylvania,\u201d an account named \u201cEnd Wokeness\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EndWokeness\/status\/1775229804356178419\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">posted<\/a> on X. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-439532180\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d94ee04968398dbe9f79d51ab3b4818b fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d94ee04968398dbe9f79d51ab3b4818b\"><\/div>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Since the start of 2024: <\/p>\n<p>TX: 1,250,710<\/p>\n<p>PA: 580,513<\/p>\n<p>AZ: 220,731<\/p>\n<p>HAVV allows voters to register with a Social Security Number (4 digits). Illegals are not able to get licenses there. But they can get Social Security Cards (for work authorization permits).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The tweet, which linked to public SSA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/open\/havv\/havv-weekly-2024-01-13.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">data<\/a>, gained quite a bit of attention, including from X CEO Elon Musk, who <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1775273232360407164\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> the data \u201cextremely concerning.\u201d The data doesn\u2019t appear to indicate exactly what the social media firestorm assumed, but those who reacted to the viral claim are right to be concerned about lax requirements for proving citizenship.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What the HAVV Numbers Represent<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/open\/havv\/#havv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2002 Help America Vote Act<\/a> requires states to check information about newly registered voters in federal elections against the individual\u2019s information (such as a driver\u2019s license) stored in the state\u2019s motor vehicle administration database. As the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aamva.org\/technology\/systems\/verification-systems\/havv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explains<\/a>, HAVA \u201calso mandates that [state motor vehicle agency] officials and the commissioner of social security reach agreements to verify the name, date of birth, last four SSN digits, and any information recorded in the Social Security Administration\u2019s records regarding the death of an individual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Social Security Administration created a new verification system called Help America Vote Verification (HAVV) two years later for states to verify such voter information with Social Security records. Because some voters register to vote using a Social Security number rather than a driver\u2019s license number or state ID number, HAVV can conduct verification for voters whom state DMVs may not be able to verify.<\/p>\n<p>Spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State Matt Heckel told <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/fact-check-migrants-voter-registration-skyrocketing-905290261987\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Associated Press<\/a> that the HAVV numbers cited in the tweet \u201cdoes not represent the numbers of newly registered voters,\u201d but reflects the number of verification requests a state or its counties have sent to to SSA via the HAVV system.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1722fa61a7f5201545c23980ba125789 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1722fa61a7f5201545c23980ba125789\"><\/div>\n<p>Heckel told the AP that \u201cin many cases, the same voter\u2019s partial SSN is being checked more than once in a single year,\u201d and that the state will use HAVV to also check absentee and mail-in ballot applications. Pennsylvania\u2019s Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions Jonathan Marks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/cfdocs\/Legis\/CMS\/ArchiveDetails.cfm?SessYear=2021&#038;MeetingId=2450&#038;Code=36&#038;Chamber=H\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testified<\/a> in 2022 that the state uses HAVV to verify the Social Security numbers on absentee and mail-in ballot applications. Marks said the applications are verified \u201cmultiple times during the year before each election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Heather Honey, executive director of the Election Research Institute and cofounder of Verity Vote, suggested Pennsylvania\u2019s use of HAVV to check absentee and mail-in ballot registrations violates its HAVV user agreement. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/dataexchange\/documents\/HAVV%20model.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">agreement<\/a> states that HAVV \u201cshall not be used to verify information for voters already on state voter registration rolls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Further, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/open\/havv\/#havv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SSA<\/a> says that \u201cstates must only submit a request to us for new voters who do not present a valid driver\u2019s license during the voter registration process.\u201d But Honey says that states like Pennsylvania aren\u2019t making that clear to voters, increasing the likelihood that voters will use the last four digits of their Social Security number to register to vote when they shouldn\u2019t. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNearly two years ago Pennsylvania legislators requested an explanation for the Department of State\u2019s improper use of the HAVV system,\u201d Honey told The Federalist. \u201cInstead of addressing the real vulnerabilities identified in Pennsylvania\u2019s election system, the Department disparages those who identify the issues and prioritizes efforts to censor and silence them.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-70572b8c7d8eef9a74e1c1fcafe7902d fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-70572b8c7d8eef9a74e1c1fcafe7902d\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other Factors at Play<\/h2>\n<p>President of the North Carolina Election Integrity Team Jim Womack said \u201cprocedural, statutory and calendar-related causative factors\u201d may also be at play.<\/p>\n<p>HAVV data shows a high amount of verification requests from Pennsylvania from Jan. 13 to the present. \u201cThe PA primary in 2024 is April 23,\u201d Womack explained. \u201cThat would explain the bevy of recent SSN look-ups in HAVV, in anticipation of the April primary.\u201d The uptick right before the election could be due to \u201cmore aggressive list maintenance activity,\u201d Womack said. <\/p>\n<p>But based on Heckel and Marks\u2019s admissions that Pennsylvania uses HAVV to verify applications for mail ballots, such applications also might explain the spike in the months leading up to Pennsylvania\u2019s April election. Womack also noted Pennsylvania\u2019s 2020 data is rather low in March and April, likely due to covid-19 restrictions hindering election office operations such as voter registration and verification.<\/p>\n<p>HAVV numbers are also high in states performing \u201caggressive, cyclical list maintenance activity,\u201d Womack posited, adding that higher numbers might indicate election officials \u201care actually doing a thorough job of verifying SSNs against birthdays and names.\u201d He also suggested that Texas\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/20\/report-eric-deemed-168000-dead-or-relocated-virginians-eligible-but-unregistered-to-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">withdrawal<\/a> from the leftist-linked <a href=\"https:\/\/ericstates.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Electronic Registration Information Center<\/a> (ERIC) might be cause for an increase in HAVV look-ups \u201ceven though the HAVV look-up tool isn\u2019t really designed for list maintenance purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKudos to the Texas Secretary of State and her election staff for the state\u2019s conscientious list use of HAVV for list maintenance activity \u2014 something they did not get from ERIC,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are the HAVV Numbers Even Accurate?<\/h2>\n<p>Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.state.tx.us\/about\/newsreleases\/2024\/040324.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">responded<\/a> to the confusion by insisting, \u201cThe 1.2 million figure [which the viral post claimed represented the number of voters registering in Texas without a photo ID] comes from the Social Security Administration\u2019s (SSA) website, which is supposed to report the number of times states have asked to verify an individual\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">social security number<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe SSA number is clearly incorrect,\u201d Nelson continued, \u201cand we are working now to determine why there is such a large discrepancy.\u201d But her office has not responded to The Federalist\u2019s request to clarify whether she meant the 1.2 million figure inaccurately represents the number of verification requests Texas has sent.<\/p>\n<p>The Federalist reached out to the Social Security Administration multiple times and was told \u201cbecause of the technical nature of your inquiry, we are unable to give it the necessary attention in this forum.\u201d This reporter was directed to the Social Security Administration\u2019s Office of Public Inquiries and Communications Support, which has yet to provide answers.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Voting Without Proof of Citizenship Is Still a Huge Problem<\/h2>\n<p>The Associated Press chastised concerned social media users for worrying that illegal immigrants are using Social Security numbers to register to vote. \u201cOnly U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections and noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare, as states have processes to prevent it,\u201d the AP claimed.<\/p>\n<p>But further down in its \u201cfact check,\u201d the AP acknowledged that a voter simply has to declare he is a U.S. citizen when registering to vote in federal elections. Federal election registration does not require documentary proof of citizenship. In fact, states have been hamstrung from trying to require it.<\/p>\n<p>Take <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/01\/court-affirms-arizonas-need-to-keep-noncitizens-off-voter-rolls-but-makes-it-harder-to-do-so\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arizona<\/a>, for example. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/stephen_richer\/status\/1775264594455679387\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called the post<\/a> \u201cextremely\u201d false and said the state has had \u201cfewer than 35,000 registrants (out of 4.1 million registered voters in Arizona) who haven\u2019t provided documented proof of citizenship.\u201d That means, however, that thousands of voter registrants in a key swing state won by President Joe Biden in 2020 by fewer than 11,000 votes are not proving their eligibility to vote.<\/p>\n<p>Arizona voters approved a law in 2004 that required documentary proof of citizenship to vote, but a 2013 Supreme Court ruling forced the state to accept the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/official-election-data-drops-2020-bombshell-thousands-of-ballots-may-have-been-illegally-cast\/\" title=\"Official Election Data Drops 2020 Bombshell: Thousands of Ballots May Have Been Illegally Cast\">federal voter registration form<\/a>, which only requires applicants to check a box claiming citizenship. Arizona responded by allowing voters who could not prove their citizenship to register as \u201cfederal-only\u201d voters, but it was forced in 2018 to \u201cnot only accept federal-only applications lacking proof of citizenship but also grant a federal-only registration to applicants who used a state form but couldn\u2019t provide proof of citizenship,\u201d as my colleague M.D. Kittle <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/01\/19\/ballots-cast-without-proof-of-citizenship-exploded-after-lawfare-crippled-arizona-election-laws\/\">explained<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>This resulted in an \u201cexplosion of federal only voters,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/01\/19\/ballots-cast-without-proof-of-citizenship-exploded-after-lawfare-crippled-arizona-election-laws\/\">Scot Mussi<\/a>, president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. The number of voters who used a federal-only ballot ballooned from 1,700 people in 2018 to 11,600 in 2020, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/azfreenews.com\/2021\/09\/over-11600-no-proof-of-citizenship-required-federal-ballots-cast-in-2020-election\/\">AZ Free News<\/a>. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-578003917c9c022a467bc52369e1d721 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-578003917c9c022a467bc52369e1d721\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, a viral social media post misinterpreted Social Security Administration data, suggesting an increase in voter registrations without ID in states allowing illegal immigrants to obtain Social Security numbers. Election officials and experts clarify the data doesn&#8217;t support this claim. Stay informed about voter registration accuracy to ensure trustworthy information spread<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2217179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/30220359593_01a5475931_k-e1712675773494.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2217178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/30220359593_01a5475931_k-e1712675773494.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2217178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2217179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2217178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2217178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2217178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}