Nick Shirley alleges potential voter fraud loophole in California that could enable illegals to vote

Independent journalist Nick Shirley discussed a possible voter registration loophole in California that he suggested could allow illegal immigrants to vote during a Wednesday appearance on "The Riley Gaines Show."

During his discussion with Gaines, Shirley recounted visiting San Diego County's Registrar of Voters office last week, where he said he asked an employee why a government-issued ID is not required to register to vote. 

"Because when you sign your affidavit, you're swearing that you're telling us the truth. And we compare the signature that you put on your application to the signature that you sign…" the employee responded.

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Shirley then asked the woman whether requiring identification "leaves any room for error" in the registration process and whether illegal migrants are voting in the state.

The employee denied the notion that illegals could be voting and asked Shirley how that would be possible.

"If they don't have their ID, and they could just sign on behalf of 'Richard Sherman,' then they could technically vote, right?" he proposed.

"Yeah, but they would be lying…" she responded, later adding that she doesn't believe illegal immigrants would abuse the state's registration process in order to vote.

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Gaines asked Shirley whether the employee was simply naive as to how the system could be abused or if she was "attempting to be politically corrupt." The host added that she was amazed by how "gullible [the employee] was to believe that there aren't bad actors out there who would be intentional in some sort of fraud in the voting realm" as Shirley allegedly exposed.

"Yeah, and God bless this lady because she's just doing her job, right? It's not her responsibility for what's happening in California, but it just goes to show how easy it would be for anyone to vote," he argued. 

Shirley went on to share that he was contacted by a noncitizen who said they traveled to California just to show how easy it was to illegally vote in the state.

"I mean, somebody reached out to me after I posted that video, and [they were] like, 'I actually am a Canadian and I came down to California to vote just to show you how easy it was,'" he claimed.

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Earlier in the show, Shirley noted that there are "lots of [other] locations as well that have a ton of people registered to vote." 

"And some of them are UPS stores… others are these colleges that have 50 people registered at a college [or] university where there should be thousands of people registered," he continued. "So [there are] a lot of these irregularities within their voter rolls that would be very much solved if people just had to present their own IDs."

When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, the California secretary of state's press team replied, "The recent social media allegations claiming California has widespread election fraud is simply a new version of old erroneous claims that spread misinformation. These social media posts are rife with inaccuracies that illustrate nothing other than a lack of unfamiliarity [sic] with California election law."

With regard to the specific claim about UPS stores, the office disputed Shirley's assertions, saying, "Per California Elections Code section 2150(a)(3), an affiant must provide their place of residence. Neither private UPS mailboxes nor PO Boxes are considered a place of residence." 

The press team noted that to register to vote in California, an eligible voter must fill out a form with identifiable information, political preference and affirm their citizenship under the penalty of perjury. Additionally, proof of residence and registration is needed for first-time voters to cast a ballot in a federal election.

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Regarding the idea that there is fraud where more than one individual is registered to vote, the office said there could be multiple reasons, including "because it is the nearest physical location to which they spend most of their time; more than one registered voter lives in dormitories with the same address; individual and haven't had the chance to re-register yet." 

The office added it was an unsubstantiated claim that California doesn't check IDs or verify voter identities.

"California voters are generally not required to  show identification before they cast their ballots. However, if a voter is voting in a federal election for the first time after registering online or by mail and did not provide their driver's license number, California identification number or the last four digits of their Social Security number on their registration form, they will be asked to show a form of identification when they go to the polls," the office said.

"If a driver's license number, California identification number or the last four digits of the Social Security number are not provided, a registration cannot be validated through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or the Social Security Administration (SSA), therefore the voter would be required to provide acceptable identification before registration is complete and they can vote.   

"Forms of acceptable identification include, but are not limited to a passport, a credit or debit card, a utility bill, and a military identification card."

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After posting his investigation into the alleged "breeding ground for voter fraud" in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom's press office account on X reposted the video, mocking Shirley's findings.

"After hyping 'massive fraud' for a month, Nick came up empty - so he posted a video about a Republican who committed voter fraud, got caught, and was prosecuted," the post began, referencing a California woman who was charged with several felonies after she illegally registered her dog to vote and cast two ballots under the canine's name.

"Slow Shirley is welcome to extend his visit and enroll in California's free community college. He clearly needs it," Newsom's press office concluded.

When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, Antonia Hutzell, the program coordinator for the San Diego Registrar of Voters, said the registrar "follows all state and federal laws and regulations as it relates to processing voter registrations and maintaining the voter rolls." 

She added, "Anyone registering to vote in California must attest (sign), under penalty of perjury that they are eligible to vote and that the information provided is true and correct. (EC §§ 2111, 2112, 2150)." 

The representative stated that in order to vote, a person must provide a California driver's license, state ID card number or offer the last four digits of their Social Security number.

Hutzell concluded, "The San Diego County Registrar of Voters is committed to administering transparent, secure and accurate elections and follows all applicable laws to ensure that eligible San Diego County residents have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote."

Newsom's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.

Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this report.