In Southern California, members of the Hispanic community have been receiving letters explaining that if they attempt to vote in the upcoming elections, they may face jail time.

You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time.

In reality, immigrants who have become naturalized citizens may legally register and vote. The State Attorney General’s office is currently investigating the matter and has indicated that those responsible could be charged with a felony carrying a penalty of up to 3 years in prison.

The letterhead on the mail sent resembled that of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform http://www.ccir.net/, a group that advocates for stricter border controls, among other things.

Could the ccir be responsible for these mailings or is it more likely that ccir’s letterhead was copied by a rogue group attempting to discredit the ccir?

Obviously it would be very difficult to prove this either way. We can however infer a couple of things about this. The ccir is likely a conservative, republican, right leaning organization. Take a look at their website and you will find posts regarding the threats posed by brown supremacists along with warnings about individuals who speak out in favor of a “reconquista” (the reacquisition of American land by Mexicans).

Knowing this, we could ask, who would be interested in falsifying a ccir document that aims to discourage immigrants from voting. Some obvious suspects would be democratic, left leaning, Hispanic groups.

Of course this is all guess work. However, one thing we can be sure of is that according to the Mercury News, the ccir was investigated in 1996 and 1998 by the FBI after members held signs near polling places stating that only citizens can vote.