CORRECTION

[The blog post below is incorrect - the AP report did, in fact, include the reference to 41 alien voters, though many sites that posted the story used only the beginning part, before that information was reported. Our apologies to AP reporter Jonathan Drew.]

Media are reporting the results of a post-election audit performed by North Carolina's Board of Elections. It turns out that 508 ineligible persons registered and voted in the election. The vast majority were felons, but 41 were aliens ("noncitizens").

Interestingly, when U.S. News and World Report and other outlets published a piece put together by the Associated Press (AP), there was absolutely no mention that a portion of the ineligible voters were aliens. I discovered it in reading a similar piece in the Daily Caller, which provides a screen shot of Appendix 5 of the report showing the exact breakdown.

The AP's omission is curious and indefensible, as is their emphasis on the fact that the illegal votes were "not enough to change the outcome of any race" and "didn't include any evidence of coordinated fraud, and many of the voters claimed to be confused about their eligibility." There seems to be a studied intent to diminish the importance of the electoral board's audit findings, although the central fact that over 500 individuals voted illegally is itself not only noteworthy, but contradicts the liberal-progressive refrain that states should not enact voter identification laws because there is no evidence of electoral fraud.

Confronted with proof, what to do? Why, then you minimize its importance with the kind of assertions embedded in the AP report. Especially avoid reference to aliens who voted illegally in light of the renewed push for enforcement of immigration laws under the new administration. This, I think, is a classic case of journalism allowing its liberal bias to seep through into its presentation of a newsworthy event.

It's not the only evidence recently of the AP's mindset clouding its reporting. When the Fresno shooter recently attacked two police officers while shouting "Allahu Akbar," the AP tweeted out, instead, that he had shouted "God is Great." While that's an accurate translation, it is also clear that the intent was to divert attention away from the shouting of the Arabic phrase, because of its close association with terrorism and jihadist attacks. Clearly those in charge at the AP are failing in their responsibility to ensure that the reporters and editors they employ uphold standards of bias-free reporting.

As to the 41 aliens who voted illegally: It's time for the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Justice to step in, consistent with recent statements by the attorney general and DHS secretary to toughen up on prosecution and removal of aliens who violate the law.

Although the North Carolina board indicates it will be making referrals to local prosecutors, it is both a federal crime (18 U.S.C. Sec. 611) and a deportable offense (8 U.S.C. Sec. 1227(a)(6)) for an alien to vote illegally. It is also a federal crime (18 U.S.C. Sec. 911) as well as a deportable offense for an alien to falsely claim U.S. citizenship (8 U.S.C. Sec. 1227(a)(3)(D)).