Republicans’ non-citizen voting myth sets stage to claim stolen election

Republicans are pushing a bill to address the nonexistent problem of non-citizen voting in the US .

There is no proof that non-citizens are voting, or even registering to vote, in any meaningful numbers.

These purges are setting the stage for future laws that restrict voters’ access to the ballot.

Republican statewide officials in several states have launched efforts to hunt for non-citizens on the voter rolls.

Voting rights groups have raised deep concerns about those efforts, saying the methodology is flawed and that states are presenting misleading statistics.

The US Department of Justice said in a lawsuit filed last week that the Alabama purge was conducted illegally.

Oregon officials say they will remove more than 1,200 people from its voter rolls after they failed to provide proof of citizenship when they registered.

The misinformation about non-citizen voting could play into conspiracy theories and distrust of elections, an expert says.

The messaging on this issue has ramped up over the past few years and coincides with racism and xenophobia.