In yet another example of Democrats downplaying serious election integrity concerns, Sen. Richard Blumenthal made a stunning claim on MSNOW Friday, insisting that non-citizen voting is “rare to the point of nonexistence”—even going so far as to compare it to being “struck by lightning.”
That statement is not just misleading—it directly contradicts available data.
Blumenthal’s comments came during a broader defense of Democrat opposition to election integrity measures, including provisions in the SAVE America Act that would require proof of citizenship to vote.
Rather than address the substance of those concerns, Blumenthal dismissed the issue entirely, telling viewers that non-citizen voting is essentially nonexistent and not a serious concern.
But the facts tell a very different story.
According to an analysis by Just Facts, cited by the Cato Institute, which builds on established academic methodologies, between 10% and 27% of non-citizen adults in the United States are illegally registered to vote.
With more than 19 million adult non-citizens recorded in the U.S. Census, that translates to roughly 2 million to 5 million illegal registrations nationwide. These numbers are large enough to influence major elections, including congressional races and even presidential outcomes.
This is not a new concern. A 2014 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Electoral Studies found similarly troubling trends. Researchers estimated that roughly one-quarter of non-citizens were registered to vote and that 6.4% reported actually voting.
Among those who voted, 81.8% said they supported Barack Obama. The authors concluded that illegal non-citizen votes likely affected key election outcomes, including Electoral College results and a pivotal Senate race that enabled Democrats to pass Obamacare.
The methodology behind those findings combined self-reported survey data with verified voter registration records, producing a best estimate that 25.1% of non-citizens were illegally registered to vote.
That estimate aligns closely with more recent analyses, reinforcing the conclusion that the issue is neither rare nor nonexistent.
Blumenthal’s “lightning strike” comparison collapses under even basic scrutiny.
Hellbound and Down 