Nick Shirley discusses alleged voter fraud loophole in California

Independent journalist Nick Shirley He discussed a potential loophole in California’s voter registration that he suggested could allow undocumented immigrants to vote during a Wednesday appearance on “The Riley Gaines Show“.

During his discussion with Gaines, Shirley recounted his visit to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office Last weekwhere he said he asked an employee why a government-issued ID was not required to register to vote.

“Because when you sign your statement, you swear that you are telling us the truth. We compare the signature you put on your application with the signature you sign…” the employee responded.

Nick Shirley appears on “The Riley Gaines Show” on Wednesday. (Screenshot/”The Riley Gaines Show”)

Shirley then asked the woman whether the identification requirement “leaves any room for error” in the registration process and whether undocumented immigrants vote in the state.

The employee dismissed the idea that illegal immigrants could vote and asked Shirley how that could be possible.

“If they don’t have their ID, and can just sign on behalf of ‘Richard Sherman,’ then they can technically vote, right?” suggest.

“Yes, but they lie…” she replied, later adding that she did not believe illegal immigrants would abuse the state’s registration process in order to vote.

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Gains Shirley asked whether the employee was simply naive about how the system could be abused or if she was “trying to be politically corrupt.” The host added that she was amazed at how “naive” she was. [the employee] “The belief was that there were no intentional bad actors involved in some sort of voting fraud,” Shirley revealed.

“Yes, 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 shows how easy it is for anyone to vote,” he said.

Freelance journalist Nick Shirley speaks during a roundtable discussion at the White House on October 8, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Shirley continued that he was contacted by a non-citizen who said he traveled to California just to show how easy it is to vote illegally in the state.

“I mean, someone reached out to me after I posted that video, and [they were] Like, “I’m actually Canadian and I came to California to vote just to show you how easy it is.”

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Earlier in the show, Shirley noted that there was “a lot of [other] Also locations that have a large number of people registered to vote.”

“And some of them are UPS stores…and some of them are colleges that have 50 people enrolled in college [or] He continued: “The university is where there must be thousands of people enrolled.” [there are] “A lot of these irregularities are in the voter rolls that could largely be solved if people just had to provide their own ID.”

When contacted by Fox News Digital for comment, the California Secretary of State’s press team responded, “The recent social media claims alleging that California had widespread election fraud are simply a new version of old false claims spreading disinformation. These social media posts are full of inaccuracies that illustrate nothing but ill-informed.” [sic] With California election law.”

Regarding the specific claim about UPS Stores, the office disputed Shirley’s assertions, saying: “Under Section 2150(a)(3) of the California Election Code, a loyalist must provide his residence. Neither private UPS mailboxes nor mailboxes constitute a residence.”

The press team noted that to register to vote in California, an eligible voter must fill out a form with identifying information, a political preference, and confirm his or her citizenship under penalty of perjury. Additionally, proof of residency and registration are required for first-time voters to cast a ballot in a federal election.

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, on February 13. (Matthias Balk/Image Alliance via Getty Images)

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Regarding the idea that there is fraud where more than one individual is registered to vote, the office said that the reasons may be multiple, including “because it is the closest physical location to which they spend most of their time, and more than one registered voter lives in dormitories at the same address, individually, and they have not yet had the opportunity to re-register.”

The office added that this is a baseless claim that California does not verify IDs or verify voter identities.

“California voters are generally not required to show identification before casting a ballot. However, if a voter is voting in a federal election for the first time after registering online or by mail and does not provide their driver’s license number, California ID number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number on their registration form, they will be required to show some 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 a Social Security number are not provided, registration cannot be verified by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or Social Security Administration (SSA), so the voter will be required to provide acceptable identification before registration is complete and they can vote.

“Acceptable forms of identification include, but are not limited to, passport, credit or debit card, utility bill, and military ID.”

Nick Shirley photographs demonstrators demonstrating against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in New York on October 22, 2025. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)

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after send Investigating an alleged “breeding ground for voter fraud” in California, Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office account on X reposted the video, mocking Shirley’s findings.

“After promoting ‘massive fraud’ for a month, Nick came up empty — so he posted a video about a Republican who committed voter fraud, was caught and prosecuted.” this post He started by referring to a woman from California who was He is accused of several felonies After she illegally registered her dog to vote and cast two votes under the dog’s name.

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

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When reached by Fox News Digital for comment, Antonia Hutzel, San Diego’s voter registrar program coordinator, said the registrar “follows all state and federal laws and regulations regarding processing voter registrations and maintaining voter rolls.”

“Anyone registering to vote in California must certify (sign), under penalty of perjury, that he or she is eligible to vote and that the information provided is true and correct,” she added (EC §§ 2111, 2112, 2150).

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

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

Newsom’s office did not immediately respond Fox News DigitalRequests for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Landon Munn contributed to this report.

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