Some argue that the implementation of Real ID will stop non-citizens from voting in US elections. That is a false claim. A US citizen and non-citizen can both get a Real ID. For example, if a non-citizen shows any of three documents, then that non-citizen is just as eligible for a Real ID as a US citizen. Those three documents follow.
1.) Foreign Passport & US Visa — The combination of a foreign passport with a valid US visa will get you a Real ID if you are not a US citizen. That passport can be from almost any country on earth, and a Geneva Convention Stateless Person passport will work too. That’s right, if we rely on Real ID to make our elections legitimate, then even stateless people will be able to vote in US elections, which is not an improvement from the present state of affairs.
2.) Green Card — A Permanent Resident Card will get you a Real ID if you are not a US citizen. That is the document that is colloquially known as a “green card.” Starting in the 1940s, there was a green colored document provided by the US government from which this term comes.
3.) EAD — An Employment Authorization Document (EAD) issued by the Department of Homeland Security will get you a Real ID if you are not a US Citizen.
The number of people holding those three documents may be in the vicinity of 20 million people. Let me break those number down further.
If Real ID Is Successfully Implemented, Some 20 Million Will Be Able To Illegally Vote Using Real ID!
The first category above is difficult to determine precise numbers on. There appears to be no definitive publicly available count of how many foreign passport holders there are with valid US visas. They are in the millions. The number is constantly in flux and the number of visas granted each year changes. That would be millions of people who fit in that first category who could legally obtain a Real ID.
As for the second category above, the Department of Homeland Security reports that, as of March 2025, there are nearly 13 million green card holders in the United States. These green card holders are eligible for a Real ID.
As for the third category above, there are approximately an additional 2 million with a work authorization letter from Homeland Security, but no green card.
To come up with a very general estimate of how many people are carrying those three forms of identification, there could be perhaps, again, 20 million people who could legally get a Real ID in any given year who are not US citizens. Given the nature of how the US Census is performed, as well as the more recent large flux of migrants both into and out of the country, it is difficult to know the present US population with great precision. The US population may be in the range of 340 million, 350 million or more. That would mean that non-citizens who are eligible for a Real ID would be about 6% of the population.
As we are looking specifically at the impact of Real ID on voting, rather that considering the number 20 million in regards to the entire population, let’s, instead, look at that 20 million legal non-citizens in comparison to the total number of registered voters.
Relying On Real ID May INCREASE The Number Of Illegal Voters ABOVE What Already Takes Place!
Getting to an exact number of properly registered voters comes with its own difficulties, as well — with uncertainty due to duplicates entries, deceased voters, decentralized databases and other issues. As a ballpark estimate, registered voters in the US may be in the 150 to 160 million range. If the above database issues were properly resolved, the number would likely be significantly lower, but let’s go ahead and use those figures in order to be conservative in our estimates. That means if all people eligible for a Real ID, received a Real ID, then those non-citizen Real ID recipients could represent approximately 12 or 13% of registered voters in the country.
We do not know how many non-citizen voters vote illegally. There appears to be little interest by most state officials to determine that number more precisely. It might be 1% of registered voters. It might be 5%. It might be 10% We simply do not know. The estimates vary widely. As we do not have accurate statistics on how many non-citizens vote illegally, it is entirely possible that switching to Real ID as a requirement to vote may have the effect of increasing the number of non-citizen voters who vote illegally. It will even extend to such people a false legitimacy, especially since Real ID has been so heavily marketed as a solution to illegal voting.
If only 3% of American voters are non-citizens voting illegally, and Real ID becomes the standard for voting, it is entirely possible that we end up with 6% or even 12% of the voting public being non-citizens who present a Real ID to vote.
That is a really big deal. It, on its own, is enough reason to cancel the Real ID program. It should certainly not be promoted by anyone as a key to safer elections.
Don’t Worry….The American Public Is Assured That Future Legislation Will Make Real ID Better At Combatting Voter Fraud
Well, in response to what I have said, a savvy critic who pays attention to the news might say, “When they pass certain legislation currently being proposed, then Real ID will be effective at that.” That what be an excellent example of “hopium” — which is, misplaced hope, and to a delusional extent. I have heard such promises from legislators too many times to count, and one would be cautious to not put too much faith into any bill ever passing through any legislative body, until it has actually passed and been signed into law.
Many bills never become law, only a tiny fraction — in the single digits each year. At the very least, as a show of good faith to the American people, if the goal of Real ID is to prevent voter fraud, the bill intended to provide for that should be passed Into law before Real ID goes into effect.
The glibness of “Let’s wait and see what happens,” is not an approach any American should take with such an important topic as welcoming in a national ID card and accompanying database. Additionally, that still does not impact the many other failings of the Real ID program, which I will address at another time.
The Problem With US Elections Is Much Bigger Than Proper Identification
To protect elections, there are more fundamental issues that need dealing with. They include returning to paper ballots only, returning to same day voting only, returning to in-person only voting, stopping the problem of default mail in ballots being sent far and wide, eliminating the newfound ease of absentee ballot registrations that has emerged over the past three decades, returning to a system of election results that can be audited. These are core problems with the American electoral system that have emerged in the past three decades.
None of these core issues are a reason for there to be a Real ID, let alone to require a Real ID. All of these core issues can be handled by returning to simple systems and processes that were in use in many parts of the United States as recently as three decades ago, and which reliably provided precinct-by-precinct election results the very same night, or, at the very least — in the most desperate of situations — by time the public woke up in the morning. I know this because I lived through many elections like this and was at times even the errand boy in my childhood that was sent to deliver “the tape,” with the precinct election results on it.
Thirty years ago, election fraud was possible, but we had relatively pristine elections compared to what we have today. It is farcical how elections are conducted in the United States. As two examples, France and Russia — both places where I have personally monitored the election process — have more robust election policies than the US. Those polices are not always followed, but in both places the election day rules in place are far better than American policies. That was not the case 30 years ago. Unfortunately, the United States has turned into a place where elections can systematically and remotely be stolen. This is so problematic that there is no reliability in the American electoral system, and there will not be until the core issues mentioned above are dealt with. America has gone from world leader in this respect to a banana republic.
Real ID is a distraction from the real work that needs to be done and contrary to the media and government narrative, the implementation of Real ID brings no benefit to any of these core issues.
Real ID simply relies on the same paperwork to prove citizenship that a citizenship requirement for voting relies on — except Real ID does it far, far worse, since Real ID offers a Real ID card to 20 million non-citizens. If anyone presses for the implementation of Real ID as a solution to election fraud, one should seriously consider the reliability of the person offering that argument.
The Possibility That Real ID Will Make The Problem Worse Is Not Fair To Describe As An “Unintended Consequence”
It is very important to recognize that adopting Real ID does not impact the issue of whether non-citizens vote. Real ID may make the problems of non-citizens voting worse than it already is. No one should plausibly claim that Real ID will reduce the number of non-citizen voters. The person saying that is either misinformed or is lying and should therefore not be trusted as reliable on this issue. Again, the Real ID adoption as presently taking place may actually increase the number of non-citizens who vote illegally. I am not attempting to present that increase in illegal voting with Real ID as a certainty, nor can I say that it is even a likelihood, but it is worthy of consideration as a possibility.
Many speak about the “unintended consequences” of government action. That term is likely applied too generously and too often. What I am describing here should not be considered an unintended consequence. Any reasonable person attempting the very basic due diligence on the Real ID program and its likely effect on US elections can barely scratch the surface and see that Real ID has a possibility of causing this problem, and perhaps even a likelihood. One must act negligently or maliciously to miss this fact. One must want to not see the truth to miss this. This should not be called an unintended consequence, but something far less generous.
The US President Has A Mandate To Fix The Systemic Failures That Allow For Election Fraud, But Unfortunately Real ID Is Not The Easy Solution That It Is Presented To Be
Our system of voting plays an important role in the United States. The veracity of elections are important for decision making, are important for how we perceive ourselves, and are important for how the rest of the world perceives us. If there is election fraud known to the US government, It is vital that President Trump intervene to protect American elections before the 2026 midterm elections and 2028 presidential elections. He is in a unique position to play that role in a way that will impact Americans of all political preferences and for decades into the future. He has that mandate.
Real ID is not the solution. Real ID is likely, in fact, to be a tremendous distraction. Distractions are one way that the enemies of the American people may act in order to subtly sabotage the results of the 2024 elections. Again, Real ID does not just act as a distraction, but may also make matters worse on this important topic.
Because this is so important an issue, we should not be playing around with ineffective and distracting plans such as Real ID. The US President must take decisive action to cancel this awful Real ID based approach at combating election fraud, must cancel the implementation of Real ID, and must call on his most trusted advisors to draw a more serious road map to combat stolen elections.
