Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order Monday aimed at preventing noncitizens from voting. The order requires that voter registration forms make it “explicitly clear” that only citizens are allowed to vote.
The governor signed the order at an event with Secretary of State Nancy Landry and Attorney General Liz Murill, and called the federal government’s border policy dysfunctional. He said 7.8 million people were “dog-whistled” into the country over the past year under the Biden-Harris administration.
Secretary Landry also condemned Biden’s executive order from three years ago. Biden’s order was designed to help federal agencies promote voter registration, but has come under scrutiny in the run-up to November’s election. Republicans say the order lacks transparency. Secretary Landry compared it to a “get out the vote operation.”
“Despite my efforts and the efforts of my colleagues around the country to demand answers from the Biden administration as to how they are implementing this executive order, we have been ignored time and again,” she said.
Under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, individuals applying for public assistance or a driver’s license must also receive a voter registration form. Under Gov. Landry’s executive order, each registration form will now display the following disclaimer from the Secretary of State: “The Louisiana Constitution prohibits noncitizens from registering and voting. Therefore, it is illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in Louisiana.”
“We know that illegal aliens in the United States are granted federal services,” Landry said. “We are going to ensure that if they walk through the door to get that federal service that they're entitled to… they will know in Louisiana, they're not allowed to vote and they're not allowed to register to vote.”
The executive order also requires the States Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) to provide the Secretary of State with a list showing all noncitizens and non-permanent residents who apply for a driver’s license or ID card. Over 40,000 noncitizens in Louisiana have temporary IDs, but the secretary of state already uses data from the OMV and Social Security Administration to verify voting eligibility and cross-references that information with jury duty questionnaires about citizenship status.
Secretary Landry pointed to the state of Virginia, where she said over 6,000 noncitizens were removed from the state’s office of voter rolls, though it's unclear whether those removals were due to noncitizens registering to vote or errors in paperwork, NBC reported.
In Louisiana, only 48 noncitizens have been removed from voter rolls since 2022. The state is ranked 10th in the nation for election integrity by the Heritage Foundation, a right-leaning think tank, which raised questions about the necessity of the executive order.
“We have multiple races every election season that are decided by fewer than 48 votes, including my own first election, which was decided by 33 votes,” said Secretary Landry. “I will not let confidence turn to complacency.”
Registering to vote as a noncitizen is a felony in Louisiana and offenders can face prison time or deportation.
“I will investigate all credible evidence of individuals who are attempting to register people to vote who are not citizens of the United States,” said Murill, though she was unsure what penalties the 48 noncitizens would face.
Gov. Landry’s order comes after a package of bills passed this year designed to tighten Louisiana’s voting laws, including stricter rules for absentee voting and requiring proof of citizenship during registration.
“Every time an illegal alien votes, it cancels out a vote from a citizen,” said Gov. Landry. “That's a disenfranchisement of American citizens.”
