SHASTA COUNTY, CA — In recent public remarks, former President Donald Trump claimed that illegal immigrant voting was commonplace in the 2024 election.

Each state is required to use a common registration form that requires people to confirm they are U.S. citizens under penalty of perjury for making false statements, but does not require documentary proof.

Shasta County Registrar of Voters Tom Toller said you must be a U.S. citizen to vote. However, proof is not always required. When Toller was asked if ID was required in elections, he said it often wasn’t. You are only required to do this if you do not provide a date of birth or social security number when registering to vote in a federal election. In all other cases, Toller said poll workers are not allowed to ask for identification.

“In all other cases, we’re not allowed to ask for ID. And if people try to show us ID, a lot of times they try to show us their driver’s license and we tell them, ‘ I’m sure you have a very nice photo.’ , but we’re not going to look at that, it’s not required and we don’t.”

Toller cannot say that it is necessary to be a US citizen, but he cannot state that illegal immigrants do not have the opportunity to vote in the United States.

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Accountability Act of 1996 prohibits illegal immigrants from voting in federal elections. Penalties for these crimes include a year in prison, a fine, and possible deportation.

In California, you must be a citizen to legally vote, although that may change in a Southern California city this election. Citizens of Santa Ana could be the first place in California to allow illegal immigrants to vote.

Some places like California already allow illegal immigrants to vote in some local elections, such as school board elections. Other states that allow this include Maryland, Vermont, and Washington DC.