Mere days before Alabama citizens go to the polls to vote in the 2024 presidential election, a Baldwin County poll worker is raising concerns about the potential for noncitizens being allowed to participate.
The poll worker, Jesi, contacted 1819 News after reading a report on the potential for noncitizen migrants to vote in U.S. elections and hearing some concerning information during her poll worker training.
Jesi lives in the Fairhope area of Baldwin County and has been a poll worker in primary and general elections since around 2017. Knowing how critical the 2024 election would be, Jesi signed up to be a poll worker on November 5 and attended the required poll worker training on September 30 at the Foley Civic Center. Jesi said that she heard information that had never been given before in her years of poll worker training.
"So, during the class, I had a conversation with one of the instructors beforehand," she told 1819 News. "He said, 'There are two differences: One is that we have new printers, and the other one is your instructions to take a new driver's license — we cut that.'"
"That was it. Everything else was standard process, but these things are worth mentioning. New printers and now we are accepting a foreign national driver's license? That it'll say that in the driver's license? Both me and the poll workers standing beside me were like. What is that?!" Jesi added.
According to Jesi, the other election trainer told the poll trainees, "This is what 'foreign national' means: they're not citizens yet, but they're working on it.'"
"I was like, how are they allowed to vote? She [the election trainer] said they, and I quote, 'They are being certified by the Department of Homeland Security, so they come in, present their driver's license the same way, you scan the barcode on the back like you do everybody else's. Their name pops up, they vote. That's it,'" she recalled.
"I thought, you allow them to vote? Wow…wow. OK, so by her own words, she's saying that they are not citizens, but they're working on it. So, they're still not a citizen," she added. "That's unconstitutional."
Jesi said that another concerned Baldwin County citizen who was at the training contacted the election training official who made these statements to request a copy of the slide showing the type of foreign national driver's license that would be cleared to receive a ballot. The training official willingly sent it to her, and she forwarded it to 1819 News.
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1819 News reached out to that training official, who requested not to be named. She advised contacting the Alabama Secretary of State for more details. She spoke to the instructions she gave in the training.
"The only info I was able to give them is that there have been some foreign nationals listed who are able to register to vote and that they would be listed on our voter registration as inactive," the official said.
"And then—it's been several months ago—but from then until now, they have either been flagged as ineligible or they have submitted information to Homeland Security, the Secretary of State's office, all those entities that, you know, they have to submit their citizenship to, to go and vote," she added.
The training official emphasized, "So, this is just a list for our county showing people who were, who were flagged initially, but who are allowed to vote."
1819 News contacted the Secretary of State's office regarding this change in the standard training procedure.
Secretary of State Wes Allen's office replied, "Both federal and state law are very clear that noncitizens are not allowed to vote in our elections — period. Because my efforts to ensure noncitizens are not voting in our elections are currently being litigated in federal court, I am limited in my ability to comment further."
Election integrity has been a major concern since the 2020 election, and given the massive influx of illegal aliens since then, the issue has only grown more contentious.
"I've been working as an election worker for many years, and this is the first time this has come up," Jesi said. "They give these classes every year or every twice a year, but this is the first time that they have instructed us to take these alternate forms of ID. I'm like, Why now? Right? Yeah. It's blowing my mind. Just none of this looks, smells or feels right."
Jesi also said that since she posed questions at the September 30 training about the validity of the foreign national IDs and their ability to vote, she has not received any assignment to work the polls on November 5. Jesi has worked most of the elections over the past seven years, even for lesser elections with very low voter turnout. She said she has never failed to receive an appointment in the past.
"After asking questions about the validity of the identification forms, I did not receive a letter requesting that I work the election polls this cycle," she told 1819 News. "That is VERY unusual, especially during a presidential election. They want to have all volunteers who are willing to work the polls. An all-hands-on-deck approach."
1819 News reached out to Alabama GOP chairman John Wahl for comment, and he replied, "It is illegal under federal law for any foreign national to vote in U.S. elections, and they should never be allowed to do so, period. The security of our elections is incredibly important, and only U.S. citizens should be deciding who is representing our country."
Wahl also spoke to the concerns of anyone training poll workers to allow this fraud to occur.
"Election officials, including poll workers, should not be encouraged to allow foreign nationals to vote," he continued. "Even if someone is unlawfully registered to vote, it does not mean they should be given a ballot on Election Day. The Constitution and rule of law are very clear on this matter. The right to vote is one of the most important and fundamental rights we have as Americans. Every U.S. citizen's voice at the ballot box must be protected, and part of that is ensuring this constitutional right is not watered down by illegal votes cast by noncitizens."
Wahl encouraged any poll worker with concerns should contact Secretary of State Allen's hotline at (800) 274-8683. Poll watchers with concerns should contact the Alabama Republican Party at (205) 212-5900.
At Jesi's request, 1819 News forwarded her report and contact information to the Republican National Committee's election integrity arm.
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, As the Girl Turns, is an investigative journalist, author, opinion analyst, and contributor to 1819 News, Redstate, and other publications. Jennifer writes on Politics and Pop Culture, with occasional detours into Reinvention, Yoga, and Food. You can read more about Jennifer's world at her As the Girl Turns website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram.
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