No.
While 19 state attorneys general, including Arizona’s Kris Mayes, filed a lawsuit challenging a recent executive order involving election reforms, the lawsuit makes no attempt to establish noncitizen voting rights. It instead contests specific elements of the order, which the attorneys general argue exceed the limits of executive authority.
Though the constitution primarily leaves the governance and administration of elections to states, Congress does have ability to legislate federal election rules. In 2002, it created the Elections Assistance Commission, an independent agency responsible for helping states comply with those federal standards. The executive branch has no singular authority to write election laws.
The attorneys general’s lawsuit, one of several challenging the executive order, does not seek to alter existing voting laws, which already prohibit noncitizen voting. Instances of noncitizen voting are extremely rare, according to research from the Heritage Foundation, a right-leaning think tank.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
Sources
- The White House, Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections
- Office of Attorney General Kris Mayes, Attorney General Mayes and Secretary of State Fontes Join Multistate Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Over Unlawful Executive Order Seeking to Impose Sweeping Voting Restrictions
- U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, State of California V. Trump Complaint
- U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 4, Clause 1
- Bipartisan Policy Center, What Presidents Can and Cannot Do for Voting Policy in Executive Orders
- The Heritage Foundation, Explore the Data
- Ballotpedia, Election Assistance Commission
- Votebeat, Judge expected to rule next week on challenges to Trump’s executive order on elections
Support AZCIR with a donation!
Sign Up, Stay Informed
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is partnering with Gigafact to produce timely fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
