INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Secretary of State and Attorney General are asking U.S. Immigration to confirm the citizenship of more than 500,000 registered voters in Indiana.
The letter that was sent to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service was sent just 19 days before the election.
Some immigration advocates have concerns that it could hinder new citizens from heading to the polls.
"The issue I am concerned about is that this inquiry into so many people may inadvertently create fear and uncertainty about the voting process,” Lisa Vielee, the Board Chair of the Immigrant Welcome Center, said.
The Immigrant Welcome Center is a non-profit organization in downtown Indy. They help people immigrating to Indiana navigate a path to citizenship while also giving them resources to get acclimated in the state.
She says she has attended several naturalization ceremonies where people become citizens. Following those ceremonies, newly minted citizens have everything they need to register to vote.
“Part of that ceremony allows people to go from the ceremony where they have become a US citizen and they can register to vote,” Vielee said.
So why is the Secretary of State asking for proof of these over 500,000 registered voters’ citizenship? The letter cites concerns from voters and local election administrators. They are concerned about the increase in absentee ballot requests from overseas.
WRTV wanted to ask the Secretary of State's office just how big that increase is, but they declined that request, as well as turned down multiple requests for an interview. After our story aired, they sent the following response.
The Secretary of State’s office anticipates that most Hoosiers who have registered to vote are in compliance with the age, citizenship, and residency requirement. Out of an abundance of caution, the office submitted names to the USCIS for which the registration does not contain an Indiana drivers license or identification card number and voters who requested an absentee ballot located overseas.
Consultation with the USCIS is viewed as an efficient and non-intrusive way to identify what is believed to be a small number of non-us citizens who have registered to vote in the upcoming election. There is no requirement that any Hoosier or resident validate their citizenship to the Secretary of State or Attorney General.
Other states who have also submitted similar information to the USCIS are getting information regarding non-citizens on voter rolls.
The Secretary of State is responding to concerns from county clerks regarding the increase of absentee ballots from overseas voters. The issue became more apparent recently with the commencement of absentee by mail voting and early in-person absentee voting.
The inquiry with USCIS is not a voter list maintenance activity and will not result in an effort to remove registrations from the voter registration list. The registration status of the 585,774 registrations will not be impacted. Because the registration status will not be impacted notification to 585,774 individuals is not necessary.
According to Indiana Code:
IC 3-7-38.2-3 Removal of name from registration record during 90-day period before election can only be done by:
(1) The written request of the voter.
(2) Disenfranchisement due to criminal conviction and incarceration.
(3) The death of the voter.
If non-citizens are identified on the voter rolls, this information will be made available to local election officials who may decide to investigate further or challenge voters. In any event, a challenged voter may vote a provisional ballot, which can be confirmed withing 10 days after the election. The process for challenging can be found in IC 3-11-8-20 through IC 3-11-8-23.5.
As of now, the office has not received a response to the inquiry to USCIS. If and/or when the office receives a response, an update will be made available.
As always, Hoosiers can contact their local county clerk to verify information in their voter file.
One legal expert WRTV spoke with says these types of inquiries aren't common.
"A federally issued passport would count for the Indiana state law,” Nicholas Almendares, an Associate professor of law at IU Maurer School of Law, said. “So, that's why this seems like a strange move because you are going to catch them the day of."
The Immigrant Welcome Center wants new citizen voters to know they aren't doing anything wrong.
"By upholding the laws of the United States Constitution, you also have the same rights as any other U.S. citizen and one of those is voting,” Vielee said.
WRTV also reached out to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to see how long an inquiry like this would take, as well as how often they receive these kinds of requests and we have not heard back.
