“A non-citizen green card-holder in Manhattan may have been illegally voting in city elections for the past 13 years — possibly one of “thousands” of similarly bogus voters,” a city Board of Elections whistleblower told the New York Post.
Abdul Rahman Kargbo, 63, first registered to vote in November 2005.
After enrolling in the Democratic Party, he voted in nine general and primary elections between 2008 and 2021, records show.
The New York Post reviewed a copy of Kargbo’s voter registration and he marked that he was not a US citizen but he was registered to vote anyway.
“We were made aware of this situation in July and the voter was removed from the voter rolls, and we will take a look at our legal requirements,” Vincent M. Ignizio, a spokesman for the city BOE told the New York Post.
NEW from me:
A Manhattan man has been voting illegally for 13 years. When he filled his Democratic party registration form, Abdul Kargbo clearly marked he was not a US citizen — but was registered anyway!https://t.co/knq8y9fvSA
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) September 17, 2022
From the New York Post:
A copy of Kargbo’s original voter registration form obtained by The Post shows he clearly and honestly marked that he was not a US citizen, yet the clueless agency registered him anyway.
“Just incompetence,” said the city Board of Elections staffer who pulled Kargbo’s voter files for The Post, adding that he’s “seen it before.” Reps for the city Board of Elections told The Post that responsibility for verifying voter information fell to the state Board of Elections.
But the state Board of Elections shrugged off the mistake, instead blaming the lack of vetting laws.
“There were no procedures in state Election Law in 2005 to verify citizenship and that remains true today. We have no way to verify citizenship status. There is no publicly accessible database from the federal government for states to verify the citizenship of voters,” said John Conklin, a spokesman for the state Board of Elections.
Federal law prohibits non-citizens from voting. “Non-citizens, including permanent legal residents, cannot vote in federal, state, and most local elections,” according to USA.gov, an official government web portal.
Earlier this year, the City Council passed a controversial bill that would allow non-citizens to vote in local elections — but the measure was shot down by Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio, who said it violated the state constitution.
The city is appealing the decision.
A city BOE insider told The Post there “could be thousands” of illegal voters currently registered and regularly voting.
“We have no way of knowing,” the insider said.
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