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After illegal alien Ian Andre Roberts was discovered to be registered to vote in Maryland, Republican state Delegate Lauren Arikan, a member of the Maryland Freedom Caucus, outlined how she believes it happened.
Arikan explained that Maryland allows illegal aliens to obtain drivers’ licenses, making the state a “hotspot” for people looking to “legitimize their presence” in the U.S.
“We do give driver’s licenses to people who are here illegally, the Freedom Caucus always opposes it, but that is the policy of the state of Maryland. And so, it’s very easy for somebody to apply and to register to vote, even though they shouldn’t,” she explained.
Maryland grants illegal aliens living in the state what are called “non-compliant driver’s licenses and ID cards” that, despite being valid in the state, are not federally compliant.
ILLEGAL ALIEN ARRESTED BY ICE FOUND REGISTERED AS ACTIVE DEMOCRAT VOTER IN BLUE STATE
Illegal alien Ian Andre Roberts was discovered to be registered to vote as a Democrat in Maryland after being arrested by ICE. (Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images and ICE)
In obtaining these licenses through the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), Arikan said that any individual, even illegal aliens, can check a box to register to vote.
Instead of having established processes to verify U.S. citizenship and voting eligibility, Arikan said the state relies on registrants to attest that they are eligible. The result, she said, is that someone like Roberts “could simply attest that he was eligible to vote in the United States and the state of Maryland would allow him to register when he went to get a driver’s license.”
“He would not have to really provide any other proof that he is lawful other than he would provide a local address,” she said.
Roberts was arrested by ICE last week on a fugitive warrant. He was working as the superintendent of public schools in Des Moines, Iowa, despite having illegal weapons possession charges and a final order of removal filed against him.
IOWA SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT ARRESTED BY ICE, FACING PRIOR WEAPONS CHARGES, ALLEGEDLY FOUND WITH LOADED HANDGUN
Authorities said a handgun was found in a vehicle used by Ian Roberts to flee from pursuing ICE agents. (ICE)
After his arrest, the Maryland Freedom Caucus blew the whistle on Roberts having an active voter registration in Maryland and being registered as a Democrat.
In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Jared DeMarinis, Maryland State Board of Elections administrator, described a process similar to the one described by Arikan.
He said that though an individual “may not commit perjury in order to become a registered voter,” when an individual registers to vote, election officials “rely on the information that is provided by the voter, or in some cases information provided by the voter to other state agencies, for the verification of eligibility.”
Despite this, DeMarinis assured that Maryland’s voter registration list maintenance process “is a secure and verified method.”
He also noted that according to Maryland law, it is not a crime to unintentionally register to vote despite not being eligible. He added that “the right to vote is a sacred right that has been expanded through sacrifices of many before us” and “this office will not disenfranchise a voter based upon partial or unsubstantiated evidence.”
DEMOCRATS SILENT ON ILLEGAL ALIEN REGISTERED TO VOTE IN BLUE STATE
An aerial view from a drone shows the 248 year-old Maryland State House, on April 16, 2020, in Annapolis, Maryland. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Concerning Roberts’ case, DeMarinis said that a review of information available through Maryland’s Public Information Act “did not show any voting history for any individual with the name Ian Andre Roberts in Maryland.”
The statement further said that due to Maryland law protecting personal identifying information from disclosure, SBE “cannot and will not publicly announce whether media reports about the individual in question is or is not or was or was not a registered voter in Maryland.”
In response to these statements, Arikan told Fox News Digital she is “extremely concerned” about “the insinuation that a person could accidentally register to vote as a Democrat in the state of Maryland.”
“That is not my experience with the system at the MVA, which asks you under penalty of perjury if you’re eligible and then asks you which party you would like to register with,” she said.
DES MOINES PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD ACCEPTS SUPERINTENDENT’S RESIGNATION AFTER ICE ARREST
Arikan said that the discovery of an illegal alien registered to vote in Maryland is “absolutely the tip of the iceberg.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
“That’s not accidental, someone willingly entered that information, whether it was Mr. Roberts himself or an employee of the MVA, we need to know,” she added, saying, “If an employee is registering people to vote illegally, that is another problem.”
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“They have been yelling for years that this is impossible, that they are on top of the voter rolls, that folks who are here illegally cannot register to vote, they’re not doing it, they’re not voting, it’s not possible. And now it comes out that it’s entirely possible. And indeed, it is occurring,” said Arikan.
“It’s absolutely the tip of the iceberg. I think it could be huge,” she went on. “And we’re going to keep digging until we get to the bottom of how many folks we could be looking at on our voter rolls still who are not eligible to vote the United States.”
