Legal Insurrection by Mary Chastain 8/31/2026
“They basically allow anybody to register to vote on the honor system. There’s nobody in government that is checking to confirm you’re a citizen…”First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said that the arrest of the Honduran national in California for allegedly unlawfully registering to vote shows the state’s vulnerability.
Essayli told Bill Melugin on Fox News:
This case really highlights the vulnerability in California’s voter rolls. They basically allow anybody to register to vote on the honor system. There’s nobody in government that is checking to confirm you’re a citizen, and in fact, in this case, he on the form put down a California driver’s license and a social, which he had because he has a visa that does not prove you’re a citizen. And according to the Secretary of State, they say at least half a million people don’t even provide that information when they register to vote.
Darwin Jonathan Rivera Flores faces two felony charges: false claim to U.S. citizenship and fraudulent voter registration.
Rivera Flores is a lawful permanent resident in California’s San Fernando Valley. But he is not a citizen and therefore cannot vote.
Rivera Flores has not voted in an election. The voter registration was dated November 4, 2025.
Authorities believe Rivera Flores intended to vote in November.
Rivera Flores appeared on the FBI’s radar due to harassing an agent after he disrupted ICE operations in February.
More:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/08/u-s-attorney-essayli-california-voter-rolls-vulnerable-after-non-citizen-arrested/
