Noncitizen voting rarely happens. But Wisconsin voters are hearing a lot about it.

A conservative talking point is now a widespread fear, fanned by anti-immigrant rhetoric.

It could be the pretext for election challenges.

The fear plays into growing doubts about the integrity of elections and stereotypes of immigrants as criminals.

In Wisconsin , Republicans passed legislation linked to the issue, including a proposed constitutional amendment.

Wisconsin has no system to verify whether every person who seeks to vote is a U.S. citizen.

Mequon City Clerk Caroline Fochs says she's been using a different system for several years to verify citizenship.

The Department of Transportation does n’t currently have a system providing voters’ current citizenship status to election clerks.

In Wisconsin , noncitizens with legal status can get Wisconsin driver’s licenses and state-issued IDs just as U.S. citizens.

Department of Transportation says it doesn’t have current citizenship information, but rather just “outdated information about the status of applicants for driver licenses at the time of application.

Lying on that form constitutes a felony offense, with penalties of up to 3 years in prison and a $ 10,000 fine.