October 29, 2024, Drexel Hill, PA: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends the Building America’s Future Roundtable at the Drexelbrook Event Center in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.Matt Bishop/ZUMA Press Wire

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In public statements, Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims about the threat of widespread voting by “illegal aliens” and noncitizens in the 2024 election.

Away from the spotlight, however, at least one Republican National Committee official is telling volunteer poll watchers an entirely different story: that such a vote is all but impossible.

In a private Oct. 29 training session for Pennsylvania poll watchers, an RNC election integrity specialist told volunteers not to worry about noncitizens voting in the 2024 election because the election system had safeguards to prevent illegal votes.

ProPublica obtained a recording of the training session. The RNC official’s comments have not been previously reported.

The RNC official’s assurance contradicts statements made by Trump and his Republican allies warning that “illegal aliens” will vote this year and could swing the election in favor of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

“It’s good to see the RNC official admitting the truth, as opposed to the many lies about non-citizen voting coming from Trump and his allies,” said Rick Hasen, a professor and election law expert at UCLA School of Law. “It would be even better if the officials said it publicly.”

The RNC official who conducted the training session and an RNC spokesman did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to ProPublica that Democrats are “pushing non-citizens to vote and influence the future of our country,” adding, “President Trump and the RNC will continue to fight to secure the election tomorrow, so that every American vote is protected.”

Voting by non-citizens is illegal under federal law, too it almost never happens. State and federal elections requires voters to be US citizens. Government election officials from both parties stressed that safeguards are in place across the country to prevent citizens from voting.

Still, that hasn’t stopped Trump and some of his most prominent supporters from making unsubstantiated claims that noncitizens are registering and voting in large numbers this year. “DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO ‘FILL’ VOTER REGISTRATION WITH ILLEGAL STREETS,” Trump posted on Truth Social in September. Other prominent Trump supporters, including billionaire tech investor Elon Musk and House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, have also amplified unfounded claims about Democrats trying to “import” such voters.

But on the ground, Trump’s own party, at least in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, is undermining those dark visions of illegal voting. During the Oct. 29 training session, Joe Neild, a member of the state RNC’s election integrity team, said such a scenario is nearly impossible.

A training session participant asked Neild about the potential for non-citizens to vote in elections and what poll watchers could do to stop them.

Neild responded that in Pennsylvania, undocumented people cannot legally register to vote and therefore will not be included in the list of eligible voters used at polling places, known as voter registers.

Here is the exchange:

Training participant: “I have two questions. The first is: how do you know if they are illegal aliens or not, like when they vote, from what you explained with ID? And if they are from another country, it was fine as long as they had an ID. How do you know if they are illegal aliens? How can you stop this?”

Neild: “Well, if they’re illegal aliens, they won’t be in the survey book. Because if they’re illegal aliens, they won’t be able to register to vote because they’ll need a driver’s license number or a social security number.

“And since the recent litigation from years past, you have to — in order to get a driver’s license here in Pennsylvania, you have to show proof of citizenship. So that’s one way they won’t be able to get a driver’s license.

“And then you have to be — since they’re illegal, they won’t be able to get a Social Security number either.”

Three election law experts analyzed the exchange between Neild and the intern poll watcher. All said Neild’s description of the law and the safeguards in place against non-citizen voting were accurate.

Adam Bonin, a Philadelphia attorney who practices election law, said Neild provided an accurate description of Pennsylvania law and the safeguards against non-citizen voting there. Bonin said Neild’s comments were “absolutely consistent” with what Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, a Republican, has said about preventing non-citizens from voting.

“As has been the case before, Trump has on his team local experts who know what the law is here in Pennsylvania and who understand the reality of how our elections work,” Bonin said.

Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor and voting rights expert who worked in the Obama and Biden administrations, said he applauded Neild for using factual information in his training session. Levitt added that he wasn’t surprised to hear Republican volunteers raise concerns about the non-citizen vote, given Trump’s campaign rhetoric.

“There was a very effective effort to misinform,” Levitt said. “But I’m glad that when push comes to shove and it’s time to really train, they’re on track.”

In addition to the registration hurdles Neild pointed out, Levitt explained that there are clear incentives to discourage citizens from voting in US elections. Criminal penalties it can include a huge fine and jail time, as well as deportation and losing the ability to become a US citizen in the future. Plus, Levitt added, the very act of voting creates a clear and obvious paper trail, making it much easier for law enforcement to file criminal charges for illegal voting.

“Every once in a blue moon you see non-citizens showing up on the rolls,” he said. “It’s usually by mistake because they’re just not worth it and they’ll get caught, guaranteed.”

Levitt said he only wished the factual information provided by the RNC at the grassroots level would also reach the party’s presidential nominee. “It sounds like the former president should attend some sessions with the people who train their poll watchers,” Levitt said.

Do you have information about the Trump campaign or voting irregularities we should know about? Andy Kroll can be reached by email at [email protected] and by phone or Signal at 202-215-6203.