Here’s the Interview the Boston Globe Falsely Claimed the Maine Wire Declined

In the spirit of transparency, here are the emails exchanged with the Boston Globe reporter who covered the Maine Wire’s investigative report showing that noncitizens are registered to vote in Maine and that votes are being illegally cast in their names.

• Exclusive: Records Show Votes Cast Under Names of Non-Citizens in Multiple Maine Elections Since 2016
• The Blob: Maine Wire Exposes Non-Citizen Voting and Election Vulnerabilities Created by Paroled Illegal Aliens [PODCAST]
• Top Maine Democrats Decline to Investigate Full Scope of Legal and Illegal Aliens Voting in Maine’s Elections
• Why the Maine Wire Won’t Turn Over Records Proving Non-Citizens Are Voting in Maine’s Elections
• NPR Editor Who Censored Hunter Biden Laptop Story Questions Maine Wire’s Noncitizen Voter Reporting

The Boston Globe falsely reported that I declined an interview. As you will see in the emails, I agreed to meet in-person to show the reporter or another Globe stringer the underlying records and the methodology used for our reporting. The Globe reporter declined that offer and instead decided to conduct the interview in writing, which I generously obliged.

My reason for approaching the Globe’s initial inquiry in this manner is that I’m familiar with how the Globe operates, and more than a few of my acquaintances have had phone calls with alleged journalists from the Globe only to later read quotes attributed to them which they did not utter. When dealing with media outlets, like the Globe, that have a proven proclivity for sloppiness and dishonesty, it’s best to have a written or recorded track record you can refer back to when they inevitably lie about something you said.

I’ve highlighted in bold my offer to meet with the reporter or with another representative of the Globe in order to share access the records underlying my report. I’ve also highlighted the two sentences from my robust responses that the reporter decided to use. Careful readers will note that the reporter, whose entire article casts my reporting as anti-immigrant and part of some grand anti-immigrant conspiracy, failed to quote my arguments as to why Maine’s current election system is actually unfair to immigrants.

Hi Steve,

I hope you’re doing well. My name is Aidan Ryan and I’m a reporter at The Boston Globe, where I cover media.

I’m working on a story about the Maine Wire and its report from earlier this month alleging that six non-citizens voted in Maine elections, how the piece has been picked up by the state and national Republican Party, and the request from the Secretary of State’s office to hand over records used in reporting, which I know the Wire has denied.

Do you have time for an interview about this? It would be great to talk about the piece and the reaction to it if you have time later today or tomorrow. Let me know if there is a good time and thanks so much.

Best,Aidan

Hi Aidan,

Thanks for reaching out. Based on the Globe’s track record, with no personal offense intended, I’d prefer to answer any questions you might have in writing. 

I’ve spoken at length about this reporting on a podcast and multiple radio interviews. I’ve also written a lengthy explanation as to why turning over the information that Maine’s AG has requested would jeopardize not only my source but also the identities of non-citizens who may be victims of identity theft. 

I will also say: I’ve provided access to the underlying records to every media outlet and elected official who has asked to see the records and has agreed to protect my sources by keeping underlying identities secret / non-public. A major TV station and a major newspaper up here have both had access to the records for almost two weeks now. No one has disputed that the records show what I originally reported, i.e. non-citizens are registered to vote and votes have been cast in their names. 

I’m not willing to electronically transmit any of the names, but if you or the Globe has someone in the Brunswick, ME area who would like a briefing on the records and our methodology for proving that non-citizen voting is happening in Maine, I would be happy to accommodate such a request. I can also connect you with elected officials, such as Republican Senate Leader Trey Stewart, who have seen the records and could potentially comment. 

Very respectfully, 

Steve

Hi Steve,

Thanks again for the reply. As promised, here’s a list of questions we have. Our deadline is 6pm tomorrow, Oct. 30. Let me know if you have any questions or if there’s anything I should clarify:

• What first led you to this story?
• How are you sure that the names from the MaineCare records are the same as the voting records from the Secretary of State’s office? Was there a possibility of multiple voters having the same name?
• Did you interview the six individuals that you report are non-citizens and registered to vote? If so, what did they say?
• The story mentions that some of the medical records indicate that these subjects have “severe intellectual or developmental disabilities and cognitive impairment.” Is it possible that they did not fill out the Medicare forms correctly and thus voted legally? How are you confident in saying that non-citizens are registered to vote?
• Non-citizen voting is extremely rare. And Secretary Bellows has said that she expects Maine’s elections to be safe and secure, and that the allegations of non-citizen voting appear to “lay the groundwork to challenge results if they don’t win,” referring to Republicans, and that not sharing information about the alleged non-citizen voters suggests the Wire is “more interested in undermining public confidence in our elections. What is your response to that?
• You have suggested that there could be a larger number of non-citizens voting in the state of Maine? What evidence are you basing that off?
• Secretary Bellows has said that her office has asked for the names, addresses and birthdates of the alleged non-citizen voters, which they believe won’t violate the confidentiality of your sources. She said her office cannot access them because federal and state privacy laws restrict her from accessing health care information. Would that reveal the identity of your confidential sources? If not, do you plan to share the names?
• Besides an investigation, is there any other action or legislation you would like to see from the state, such as the introduction of a voter ID law?
• I understand that Leonard Leo is a supporter of The Maine Wire. Leo also operates two nonprofits that have donated millions of dollars to groups that say they are clamping down on alleged voter fraud. Does Leo have any say in editorial decisions at the Wire? How much has he given the Wire and the parent company, the Maine Policy Institute?
• Is there anything else you want to add?

Thanks,

Aidan

• What first led you to this story?
  

A whistleblower provided me with unsolicited (Medicaid) MaineCare records.

• How are you sure that the names from the MaineCare records are the same as the voting records from the Secretary of State’s office? Was there a possibility of multiple voters having the same name?

Both the MaineCare records and the Central Voter Registration (CVR) records contain other identifiers, including addresses, dates of birth, and in some cases phone numbers. That makes same-name errors extremely unlikely. In addition, we hired an outside PI to vet the names based on SSNs.  

• Did you interview the six individuals that you report are non-citizens and registered to vote? If so, what did they say?

No. This would have required several different translators, but it also could have put my source at risk. 

• The story mentions that some of the medical records indicate that these subjects have “severe intellectual or developmental disabilities and cognitive impairment.” Is it possible that they did not fill out the Medicare forms correctly and thus voted legally? How are you confident in saying that non-citizens are registered to vote?

The alien statuses associated with Medicaid records are not filled out by the patient. They are automatically populated in connection with the nine-digit unique identifier / SSN. I’m 100% confident that at least six individuals described in MaineCare records as non-citizens are registered to vote and that votes have been cast in their names.

Additionally, we know that these Alien Status records are accurate because the HC provider, state, and federal government all have a strong financial incentive to keep them accurate. The alien status determines who ultimately has to pay for a given individual’s health care services. All of these things are regularly audited to ensure that providers and states aren’t improperly billing for reimbursement. No one in Maine has advanced the argument that the Medicaid/MaineCare records are inaccurate. 

• Non-citizen voting is extremely rare. And Secretary Bellows has said that she expects Maine’s elections to be safe and secure, and that the allegations of non-citizen voting appear to “lay the groundwork to challenge results if they don’t win,” referring to Republicans, and that not sharing information about the alleged non-citizen voters suggests the Wire is “more interested in undermining public confidence in our elections. What is your response to that?

We don’t know how rare or how common non-citizen voting is because Gov. Janet Mills won’t instruct DHHS to use MaineCare’s Alien Status data to identify non-citizen voters. DHHS could get the CVR file from SOS, compare it to Alien Status data, and produce a report very quickly on how many “2-Legal Aliens” and “3-Other” are registered to vote. They won’t do that. Why?

Maine’s Attorney General and Secretary of State can come up with an exact number of non-citizen MaineCare enrollees who are registered to vote in less than a day. Nothing is required of the Maine Wire to solve this problem because the government already has all the records. Again, all of the records the government is asking from me are government records that they already have. You should ask them why they won’t take simple, legal steps to help inform Mainers about the total number of non-citizens voting in our elections, because it’s not zero. 

• You have suggested that there could be a larger number of non-citizens voting in the state of Maine? What evidence are you basing that off?

It’s mathematically unlikely that I found the only six non-citizens who are registered to vote. If six individuals within my sample population (admittedly not purely random) of 18 individuals are registered to vote, then you’ve got a rate of 33%. If that rate is applied to a total non-citizen population in Maine of 70,000 to 100,000 (which is what the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition estimates), then you start to get to some big numbers. 

• Secretary Bellows has said that her office has asked for the names, addresses and birthdates of the alleged non-citizen voters, which they believe won’t violate the confidentiality of your sources. She said her office cannot access them because federal and state privacy laws restrict her from accessing health care information. Would that reveal the identity of your confidential sources? If not, do you plan to share the names?

Providing any name or name(s) could allow the Mills Administration to track down my source. As a journalist, I’m ethically bound to protect a source. 

• Besides an investigation, is there any other action or legislation you would like to see from the state, such as the introduction of a voter ID law?

I will continue to investigate MaineCare fraud and what appears to be a coordinated effort by left-wing NGOs to illegally register noncitizens to vote. As a human being, I think it would be decent for the state to educate non-citizens on American election laws so they do not accidentally register to vote and place themselves at risk of deportation. If the non-citizens voting in Maine are subject to deportation under a Trump Administration because they violated election laws, they’ll have only Shenna Bellows to blame for refusing to implement safeguards like Voter ID. 

• I understand that Leonard Leo is a supporter of The Maine Wire. Leo also operates two nonprofits that have donated millions of dollars to groups that say they are clamping down on alleged voter fraud. Does Leo have any say in editorial decisions at the Wire? How much has he given the Wire and the parent company, the Maine Policy Institute?

No, and, while we’re grateful, not enough.

• Is there anything else you want to add?

I have provided access to the underlying records to every journalist and elected official who has asked to see them and who has agreed to protect my sources. None have found reason to dispute my underlying reporting. 

Hi Steve,

Thanks again for your responses to our questions from earlier this week. As I’ve mentioned, the story is focusing on the allegations of noncitizen voting, the response from the state, and similar claims of voter fraud from across the country. We are including comment from organizations and other individuals who have criticized the Maine Wire’s reporting, so I wanted to follow up to make sure you have an opportunity to respond and provide any additional context. Additionally, I have a few fact-checking questions.

• Is the Maine Wire still owned by the Maine Policy Institute? Just want to make sure there haven’t been any changes in ownership.
• I understand the Maine Wire was founded in 2011. Is that correct?
• You’ve written that if the proportion of records you’ve looked at is applied to the estimated number of noncitizens living in Maine, there could be 20,000 to 25,000 noncitizens registered to vote. Besides the proportion, have you seen additional evidence that shows that could be the case?
• We spoke to a media ethicist who said not seeking comment from the individuals claimed to be noncitizen voters goes against standard journalistic principles and that the reporting lacks some key details (they cited the fifth graf of the story, which reads “If their immigration statuses have been correctly recorded…” as an example). This person also added that they could not see how seeking comment would jeopardize your source, and that not seeking comment because it required translation services was a “weak, weak excuse.” Do you have any response to those criticisms?
• There have been numerous reports about how former President Trump and Republicans across the country are laying the groundwork to potentially challenge the upcoming election results, in part by claiming that noncitizens are voting. In your piece from this week, you suggest that alleged noncitizen voting in Maine could impact the state’s election results. Do you believe there is a valid claim to challenge results in Maine? What is your response to critics of Trump and other Republicans who say that noncitizen voter claims are overblown and feed into anti-immigrant rhetoric?

If you could get back to me before the end of the day, that would be great. I’m not sure exactly when our story will run, but I imagine it could publish over the weekend at the earliest.

Best,
Aidan

Hi Steve,

Thanks again for your responses to our questions from earlier this week. As I’ve mentioned, the story is focusing on the allegations of noncitizen voting, the response from the state, and similar claims of voter fraud from across the country. We are including comment from organizations and other individuals who have criticized the Maine Wire’s reporting, so I wanted to follow up to make sure you have an opportunity to respond and provide any additional context. Additionally, I have a few fact-checking questions.

• Is the Maine Wire still owned by the Maine Policy Institute? Just want to make sure there haven’t been any changes in ownership.

Yes.

• I understand the Maine Wire was founded in 2011. Is that correct?

Yes.

• You’ve written that if the proportion of records you’ve looked at is applied to the estimated number of noncitizens living in Maine, there could be 20,000 to 25,000 noncitizens registered to vote. Besides the proportion, have you seen additional evidence that shows that could be the case?

Only the State of Maine can say how many noncitizens are registered to vote, but Gov. Mills refuses to have DHHS determine the answer. We know that it’s not zero and the upper end estimate of 20,000-25,000 is based on numbers from the Maine Immigration Rights Coalition.

• We spoke to a media ethicist who said not seeking comment from the individuals claimed to be noncitizen voters goes against standard journalistic principles and that the reporting lacks some key details (they cited the fifth graf of the story, which reads “If their immigration statuses have been correctly recorded…” as an example). This person also added that they could not see how seeking comment would jeopardize your source, and that not seeking comment because it required translation services was a “weak, weak excuse.” Do you have any response to those criticisms?

Your ethicist doesn’t appear to have all of the facts that he or she would need to render an informed opinion, so it’s tough to respond to whatever he or she might have said. Your query about “lacking key details” is itself unclear, so I’m not really sure what you’re asking or what your point is.

However, contacting the non-citizen voters would have put my source at an unacceptable risk.

Five different media outlets in Maine, including the Maine Monitor, have had access to these records. None have refuted my reporting or criticized my handling of the ethical questions at hand.

• There have been numerous reports about how former President Trump and Republicans across the country are laying the groundwork to potentially challenge the upcoming election results, in part by claiming that noncitizens are voting. In your piece from this week, you suggest that alleged noncitizen voting in Maine could impact the state’s election results. Do you believe there is a valid claim to challenge results in Maine? What is your response to critics of Trump and other Republicans who say that noncitizen voter claims are overblown and feed into anti-immigrant rhetoric?
  

Ask a lawyer.

Illegal non-citizen votes cancel out legal U.S. citizen votes, effectively disenfranchising US citizens and depriving them of their fundamental right to participate in self-government. How many US citizens should be deprived of their right to vote? These “critics” you refer to seem to be okay depriving Americans of the right to vote.

Maine’s current system is anti-immigrant insofar as it makes it too easy for asylum seekers and refugees to inadvertently commit the deportable offense of registering to vote. Politicians like Janet Mills and Shenna Bellows are doing a tremendous disservice to refugees and asylum seekers by refusing to establish some guardrails around the voter registration process.