Left-wing group funded by illegal sources faces House inquiry over concerns about illegal immigrant voting

EXCLUSIVE — A little-known nonprofit behind a massive voter registration drive ahead of the 2024 election is facing congressional scrutiny over concerns about noncitizen voting, a letter shows.

On Tuesday, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) sent a letter to Vot-ER, a charity that Washington Examiner investigation found that he was funded by left-wing dark money groups and was working with public health facilities to register patients to vote. The congressman wrote to Vot-ER CEO Aliya Bhatia, a left-wing activist, and CEO Judith Faulkner of Epic Systems, a healthcare software company allegedly tied to Vot-ER’s activities.

“I am writing today with concerns about the joint voter registration efforts of your organizations,” Roy wrote in a letter to Bhatia and Faulkner. “In particular, as evidence of noncitizens illegally registering to vote in federal elections grows across the country, I am writing to inquire about the steps your organizations are taking to ensure that noncitizens do not register to vote as part of your joint efforts.”

Vot-ER was founded by Alister Martin, a physician and former adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris. Vot-ER staff were present at a 2021 meeting with the Executive Office of the President, the Justice Department and other agencies to plan implementation of an executive order issued by President Joe Biden that gives agencies new tools to register voters, Washington Examiner reported. The order, according to Republican lawmakers and conservative legal experts, appears to be unconstitutional.

Roy’s letter cited an archived Vot-ER press release from earlier this year that stated, “Epic, an electronic health record system that serves more than 305 million patients nationwide, now includes voter registration options for all customers!” The Texas Republican also cited an Epic Systems document obtained by his office that indicated health care providers using Epic’s services can implement Vot-ER’s tools “via a link that directs patients to a nonpartisan tool where they can register to vote.”

However, Roy wrote in his letter, the documents his office saw do not mention steps health care providers should take “to ensure that noncitizens do not illegally register to vote in federal elections.”

“Vot-ER wants all eligible voters to register to vote and cast their vote to strengthen democracy and improve their health,” Bhatia said Washington Examiner“We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit voter registration organization, and it is shameful that attempts are being made to deny eligible voters access to the polls.”

This Washington Examiner reported in May that outside groups planning to implement Biden’s voter registration order suggested registering undocumented immigrants. The May report also revealed that Vot-ER posted YouTube content on the topic of “what to do if a patient says they’re undocumented.”

“This is especially concerning given that the border crisis has strained many hospital systems across the United States due to the increased number of undocumented immigrants seeking care — particularly in emergency departments,” Roy said.

“Worse still, Vot-ER has actively opposed efforts to ensure that non-citizens do not illegally register to vote in federal elections,” Roy added in his letter, citing Vot-ER’s opposition to legislation that “would require states to obtain proof of citizenship before registering an individual to vote.”

In a statement for Washington ExaminerEpic Systems spokeswoman Coral Graszner said her company was still reviewing Roy’s letter.

Graszner emphasized that the software Epic provides to customers “does not collect voter registration information or connect to any voter registration website.”

“We’re not aware of any customer that has configured their Epic instance to collect voter registration information,” Graszner said. “If a customer decides to engage in voter registration activities or partner with a voter registration organization, that’s up to them.”

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Roy asked Faulkner and Bhatia for information on the number of people who have registered to vote in the federal election or have applied for a ballot since Epic Systems and Vot-ER began their partnership.

The Republican congressman also wants to know how these groups plan to prevent non-citizens from voting, whether Epic Systems agrees with Vot-ER in opposing the proof-of-citizenship legislation, and whether Vot-ER believes non-citizens should be able to vote.

This story has been updated after publication with comment from Aliya Bhatia of Vot-ER