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    • Social media claims about non-citizens voting in Wisconsin are false
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    Social media claims about non-citizens voting in Wisconsin are false

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    With elections just two weeks away, one of the most prevalent claims on social platforms like X and Facebook is that large numbers of non-citizens are voting.

    The false claim was repeated repeatedly by former President Donald Trump and posted dozens of times by the owner of X himself, Elon Musk.

    And many of these posts seem particularly distrustful of the Wisconsin election.

    For example, online personality Peter Bernegger, an election denier known to file over a dozen lawsuits against state and local officials, told his 45,000 followers on X last month that “there are 300,000 non-citizens and illegals who are ready to vote in our elections” in Wisconsin.

    Bernegger attributed his statement to data showing the Department of Transportation issued more than 258,000 driver’s licenses to noncitizens in 2019, information he said was obtained through a public records request.

    Only US citizens who show valid proof of residency can vote in Wisconsin elections.

    DOT spokesman John DesRivieres declined to confirm those numbers or comment on Bernegger’s claims, citing the department’s policy against talking about pending lawsuits.

    But in a motion to dismiss a lawsuit making similar claims Last month, DOT attorneys said Wisconsin “has many controls in place to ensure that only citizens vote.”

    In its motion, the DOT noted that people must prove they are U.S. citizens or legal residents to obtain a driver’s license or ID. feds The REAL ID Act requires all states to check immigration status before issuing driver’s licenses.

    And while people don’t have to prove their citizenship to register to vote, any non-citizen who tries to do so would be violating both state and federal law. In Wisconsin, a conviction for voter fraud is a Class I felony that can result in a fine of up to $10,000, 3 1/2 years in prison, or both.

    There is no evidence that non-citizen voting is a problem, Wisconsin Election Commission spokesman Riley Vetterkind told the Public Investigator.

    A study of the 2016 election by the Brennan Center for Justice found that in 12 states, only 30 incidents of suspected non-citizen voting were referred for further investigation. Those incidents were out of 23.5 million votes, meaning potential non-citizen votes accounted for 0.0001 percent of the vote.

    The Wisconsin Elections Commission has been notified of only four cases of alleged citizenship-related voter fraud since 2015.

    A case happened last year when a Ukrainian woman was charged with a felony for voting as a non-citizen in the Mequon school board election. She said that because of her limited English language skills, the vote was the result of a misunderstanding.

    “The names of people who are registered to vote in Wisconsin and who participate in elections are fully open to public inspection, including by law enforcement,” Vetterkind said.

    RELATED: What you need to know about non-citizen voting and Wisconsin’s November referendum question

    Some conservative groups are lobbying for states to require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

    Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tanksupports such legislation because of what it calls “the ongoing immigration crisis.“However, the foundation’s own data does not support the fears of non-citizen voters.

    Immigration Impact, a news site created by the advocacy organization American Immigration Council, analyzed the Heritage Foundation’s database of voter fraud cases. The study found that only 5% of the cases found by the Heritage Foundation since the 1980s involved non-citizens. Otherwise, they all involved American citizens.

    In addition, a Recent survey from the Brennan Center showed that many US citizens do not have proof of their citizenship, such as passports and birth certificates, readily available.

    More: We asked experts how to spot fake political information. Here are 5 tips

    Sowing distrust in the integrity of elections destabilizes US democracy

    Misleading or false claims of voter fraud create distrust in American elections while reinforcing racism and xenophobia, said Audrey McCabe, who oversees disinformation monitoring program to the non-partisan government oversight body Common cause.

    That ultimately destabilizes democracy, McCabe said.

    “Something like the non-citizen voting narrative is so prevalent,” McCabe said. “People see it everywhere.”

    McCabe leads Common Cause’s efforts to fill social media feeds with factual information about the election process. The practice is drawn from research that shows people are less likely to do it they believe false information if first exposed to correct information or the “inoculation effect”.

    It helps combat misinformation without amplifying it, she said.

    Since the 2020 election, skepticism about the electoral process has skyrocketed, McCabe said, and claims about non-citizen voters exploit existing biases.

    “See you too much violence against election workers who is just trying to do his job,” McCabe told the Public Investigator.

    More: If they lose, Republicans are preparing to blame non-citizens who vote — which is incredibly rare

    How to avoid falling into political misinformation

    When browsing the Internet for what’s true and false, McCabe said people should look at the tone of the writing, especially in headlines.

    A flashy headline tries to grab readers’ attention, “not with facts, but with some kind of sensational language,” she said.

    McCabe also said users should always verify the source of information.

    To verify voting claims, McCabe recommends referring to reliable sources, such as your state’s Secretary of State websitefact-checking site PolitiFactthe resources offered online by Nonpartisan National Voter Education Week project, and VerifiedVoting.orgwhich is dedicated to supporting a democratic voting process.

    McCabe also said to consider what someone can gain from posting disinformation and what kinds of things they post on a regular basis.

    “Normally, people cause misinformation because they have a tendency to gain something from it,” McCabe said.

    This could include more followers or political support by broadcasting a narrative that will instill fear in their audience.

    When false information is discovered, McCabe said to never engage with it to avoid spreading the post. Instead, report it on the platform it’s posted on, she said.

    “Ultimately, that’s what they want,” she said. “They want clicks. They want views. And you reacting angrily and commenting will only make it worse.”

    Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be emailed to [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @Quinn_A_Clark.

    About Public Investigator

    Government corruption. Corporate misconduct. Consumer complaints. Medical scams. public investigator is a new initiative by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and sister newsrooms in Wisconsin. Our team wants to listen to your tips, follow the leads and uncover the truth. We will investigate anywhere in Wisconsin. Send your tips to [email protected] or call 414-319-9061. You can also send tips to jsonline.com/tips.

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