Noncitizen voting is not a federal crime, a federal judge ruled last week, holding that the 1996 federal ban goes beyond what Congress may do. Days later the Justice Department charged 16 foreign nationals in four states with voting in American elections, and on December 8 the Supreme Court hears the Arizona case in which the left argues that states cannot keep noncitizens off their voter rolls either. If Congress cannot stop it and the states cannot stop it, who makes sure only American citizens decide American elections? Jenny Beth Martin spends the full hour with Cleta Mitchell, founder and chairman of the Election Integrity Network, 28 days before Election Day. They cover the ruling and the 2013 Supreme Court decision it contradicts, the Arizona case and the 90-day blackout on removing noncitizens, the new Medicare and Medicaid guidance on nursing home voting and the toolkit families can use to protect a parent's ballot, Secretary Pete Hegseth's registration day for the military and who is really using the overseas ballot system, the Supreme Court's block on the Postal Service rule, and the Census Bureau comment period on counting only citizens for apportionment. Cleta Mitchell founded and chairs the Election Integrity Network, which trains citizen volunteers nationwide and publishes the Model Election Laws Handbook legislators use to write election law. Tea Party Patriots Action will be outside the Supreme Court on December 8; sign up at onlycitizensvotedc.com. Learn more at teapartypatriots.org and jennybethshow.com.
Guest: Cleta Mitchell is founder and chairman of the Election Integrity Network, which trains citizen volunteers in states across the country, runs the state election integrity coalitions, and publishes the Model Election Laws Handbook that legislators use to write election law. A longtime election lawyer, she worked on the Only Citizens Vote Coalition with Jenny Beth Martin in 2024 and will be at the Supreme Court on December 8 for the Arizona proof-of-citizenship case.
Key topics:
• A federal judge rules that Congress cannot make noncitizen voting a federal crime, and the Trump administration files an expedited appeal
• Sixteen foreign nationals charged with election crimes in Florida, Louisiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota
• What Election Integrity Network volunteers are hearing 28 days out, and the two things Mitchell asks every listener to do
• Vulnerable voters: how partisan groups register and harvest ballots in nursing homes, group homes and shelters
• The July guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: residents keep the right to vote and the right to say no
• The toolkit at electionintegritynetwork.org, and what families can tell the facility where a parent lives
• Virginia's proposal to require a separate court finding before a voter declared incompetent loses the vote
• Why Mitchell says these groups see residents as groups of ballots rather than people
• Secretary Pete Hegseth's order that every unit hold a registration day before October 15
• Who is really using the overseas absentee ballot system, by Mitchell's count
• The Supreme Court blocks the Postal Service rule; vacant addresses, Georgia 2020 and Nevada's mass-mailed ballots
• Justice Alito's dissent and why so many challengers are granted standing without being asked
• Tyrants in black robes: the Constitution, citizenship, and the 18 states that put citizenship in their constitutions
• Why the SAVE America Act exists: the 2013 Arizona ruling and the bifurcated ballot
• A Citizens United parallel: will the Court revisit 2013 when it hears Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota?
• The 90-day blackout: never eligible to be added, but not allowed to be removed
• The Kansas secretary of state nominee who says noncitizens should be able to vote
• Tuesday, December 8: Tea Party Patriots Action outside the Supreme Court, sign up at onlycitizensvotedc.com
• The census: restore the citizenship question, apportion the House by citizens only, count instead of estimate, and comment by November 2
• The Model Election Laws Handbook, and where to follow the Election Integrity Network
• Jenny Beth Martin's close: the choice this November and ten ways to volunteer
Timestamps:
00:00 — Cold open: a judge's ruling, 16 charged, and December 8
00:54 — Sixteen foreign nationals charged in four states; the Leibowitz ruling and the appeal
02:39 — The SAVE America Act and the 78.3 percent who want proof of citizenship
03:11 — December 8 at the Supreme Court: Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota
04:02 — Cleta Mitchell joins: what her volunteers are hearing 28 days out
05:35 — Vulnerable voters: nursing homes, group homes and ballot harvesting
06:32 — The July guidance from Medicare and Medicaid: the right to vote and the right to say no
09:47 — How to download the toolkit at electionintegritynetwork.org
11:31 — Virginia's proposal for voters a court has declared incompetent
14:28 — Shine a light: deterring the groups that see residents as groups of ballots
16:10 — Oklahoma, law school, and a Democrat and a Republican watching each other
19:22 — Poll workers and poll watchers: how to get involved
22:04 — Military voters: Secretary Hegseth's registration day before October 15
23:40 — Who really uses the overseas ballot system
26:49 — Suing the states that let people who never lived there vote
28:31 — The Supreme Court blocks the Postal Service rule
30:24 — Vacant addresses, Georgia 2020, and Nevada's two million mailed ballots
33:17 — Justice Alito's dissent and the standing question
35:57 — The ruling: Congress cannot make noncitizen voting a crime
37:36 — Eighteen states with citizenship in their constitutions
38:50 — Why the SAVE America Act exists: Arizona, 2013 and the bifurcated ballot
42:40 — A Citizens United parallel: will the Court revisit 2013?
44:18 — The second question: removing noncitizens in the 90-day blackout
45:53 — The Kansas nominee who says noncitizens should vote
46:44 — Tuesday, December 8: Tea Party Patriots Action outside the Court
49:33 — The census: citizenship question, apportionment and the comment period through November 2
51:48 — California's seven to ten seats
53:15 — The 2022 admission: 14 states miscounted
57:08 — Where to follow Cleta Mitchell; the Model Election Laws Handbook
59:10 — Jenny Beth Martin's close: the choice this November
01:08:11 — Ten ways to volunteer at iwillsaveamerica.com
Links mentioned:
electionintegritynetwork.org
onlycitizensvotedc.com
helpatthepolls.com
iwillsaveamerica.com
friendshelpfriendsvote.com
jennybethshow.com
teapartypatriots.org