EXCLUSIVE: Records Show California’s Laws Actually Enable Non-Citizens to Vote in US Elections

EXCLUSIVE: Records Show California’s Laws Enable Non-Citizens to Vote in US Elections

By Christine Bish

The California Secretary of State’s own minutes show how the state enabled non-citizens to vote in US elections.

Per official state records, we can see how the California Secretary of State’s office, the DMV, and the Motor Voter Task Force worked together to legalize non-citizen voting in the state.

JULY 23, 2024: CALIFORNIA DRIVERS ONLY HAVE TO SAY THEY ARE US CITIZENS TO BE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE

On page four of the July 23, 2024, meeting minutes, officials discussed a section called “Filtering non-citizens using documentation.” The minutes state:

“Currently, every customer is provided the opportunity to complete attestation for eligibility and US citizenship.”

An attestation is a promise. California allows individuals to say (attest) that they are US citizens, and no further proof is necessary. The individual’s word is all the support the state needs to certify eligibility to vote in US elections.

The minutes from July 2023 raise an issue. If the state has no record indicating that a person is ineligible to vote, that person may be allowed to register.

In simple terms, the state takes the person’s word on citizenship unless another record shows that the individual is not a citizen. This is not the same as checking proof of U.S. citizenship.

The Secretary of State confirmed the state’s practice of allowing individuals to vote in its own minutes. However, California politicians, like Senator Alex Padilla, the former California Secretary of State, claim that citizenship is identified on the front-end. He doesn’t say that all you have to do is claim you are a citizen to be added to the voter roll.

I asked U.S. Senator Alex Padilla and former CA Secretary of State if California has the ability to verify if non-citizens are on the voter rolls.

He explained it’s “determined on the front end, when people register to vote.”

He’s worried about timing of U.S. DOJ’s action now: https://t.co/AcmhryoYiF

— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) October 26, 2026

APRIL 22, 2025: CALIFORNIA WAS WORRIED THAT AB 60 DRIVERS ON ITS VOTER ROLLS WHO ARE NOT CITIZENS AND NOT ELIGIBLE TO VOTE WILL BE EXPOSED

Nine months later, voter eligibility came up again. On page four of the April 22, 2025, meeting minutes, officials discussed proof of citizenship. The minutes state:

“The CA Real ID does not have any indicators that show citizenship.”

A California REAL ID can show who a person is. It does not show whether that person is a citizen. Then the minutes record this statement:

“The DMV shared that it would be risky for the security of AB60 drivers of California” to add citizenship confirmations to REAL IDs.”

AB 60 driver’s licenses are issued to people who cannot prove they are in the United States legally but can prove their identity and California address. After recent deadly accidents caused by AB 60 drivers licensed in California, the Trump Administration pressured California to cancel 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses.

However, the state, in its April 2025 minutes, was protecting AB 60 drivers who could be removed from voter rolls if more stringent citizenship requirements were in place. That raises simple questions. Why would a citizenship mark on a REAL ID put AB 60 drivers at risk? What study showed that risk? What other way did the state consider to check voter eligibility?

The same minutes give another key fact. The DMV said it checks a person’s name and birth date against Social Security data. That may show who the person is. It does not show that the person is a U.S. citizen. Checking identity is not the same as checking citizenship.

AUGUST 19, 2025: CALIFORNIA CREATES ANOTHER WEAK PLAN TO PREVENT AB 60 APPLICANTS FROM LANDING IN THE VOTER ROLLS

The August 19, 2025, meeting minutes explain how AB 60 applicants are supposed to be kept out of DMV Motor Voter. The minutes state:

“Once the AB60 status is established, the voter registration questionnaire will not be presented to said customer(s).”

The key word is “once.”

The filter works only after DMV correctly marks the person as an AB 60 applicant. The minutes tell us the plan. They do not show an audit proving the plan worked every time.

The same minutes explain what happens when a customer reaches the voter questions. The customer must “self-attest, under penalty of perjury” that all rules are met, “including citizenship.”

This attestation is not separate proof of citizenship.

THE LAW THAT PLACES POTENTIAL NON-CITIZENS ON VOTER ROLL CONTINUES

California Elections Code Section 2111 lets a person establish citizenship for voter registration by signing a sworn statement. Section 2112 goes further. It says the signed statement counts as evidence of citizenship for voting only.

These sections matter more now because California has added more ways to register and vote. Newsom signed AB 796 in 2021. That law created the Motor Voter Task Force whose minutes are quoted here. In 2024, he signed AB 2127, which extended the task force through 2030.

The law treats the signed statement as evidence. The real question is what happens when it is false.

A matching name and birth date do not prove citizenship. A matching ballot signature does not prove the person had the right to register.

If an unlawful ballot is counted, charging the person later does not remove the vote from the total.

In our next report, we will show what happens when the system makes mistakes.

We’ll provide minutes showing code problems, duplicate files, failed address checks, late voter files, and other errors. They also show that California can compare DMV data with VoteCal, the state voter list.

That leaves the question: Did the state compare the 11,000 flagged DMV cases with AB 60 records and VoteCal?