Little to stop illegal aliens from voting

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U.S. citizens who go to the polls Nov. 2 to decide local, state and national elections are likely to get more help from noncitizens this year than ever before.

Beyond requiring applicants to sign a pledge on voter-registration forms affirming that they are U.S. citizens, there is no way to prevent the nation's estimated 8 million to 12 million illegal aliens from casting ballots in November, area elections officials said.

Locally, only Virginia requires voters to provide their Social Security numbers, but the state does not require voters to show their Social Security cards.

"There is no way of checking," said Maryland State Board of Elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone. "We have no way of doing that. We have no access to any information about who is in the United States legally or otherwise."

Nationally, immigration experts said it is likely that illegal immigrants vote, but that only a small percentage does so.

"Evidence suggests very few illegal aliens vote, but it's certainly not zero," said Steven Camarota, director of research at the D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies. "Illegal aliens don't come to America to vote, and would generally try to avoid doing so."

Today, there are roughly 8 million illegal aliens in the United States who are of voting age, he said.

Mr. Camarota said more legal immigrants who are not citizens might be voting illegally.

"The whole system isn't well-guarded," he said. "There's no system in place to really prevent illegal aliens from voting or even to deter them from voting."

Six Maryland municipalities -- Chevy Chase, Takoma Park, Garrett Park, Barnesville, Martin's Additions and Somerset -- allow noncitizens to vote only in local elections. However, in state and national elections, voters must meet the state standards for voter registration.