(Indianapolis, IN) - The Indiana Attorney General and the Secretary of State are seeking federal help in vetting the citizenship of over half a million Hoosier voters.
Todd Rokita and Diego Morales have issued a joint letter to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to verify the citizenship status of voters who registered in Indiana without providing state-issued forms of identification.
“Hoosiers deserve to know that only eligible voters are participating in our elections and that legitimate ballots are not being diluted by noncitizens,” Attorney General Rokita said. “We are doing our part to provide this assurance.”
“A fair and secure election process begins with accurate voter information,” added Secretary Morales. “As Indiana's Chief Election Officer, I am committed to ensuring that every registered voter in Indiana has met the legal requirements, including being a U.S. citizen... Only U.S. Citizens can vote in Indiana. Period.”
According to a statement by Rokita, Federal law requires the USCIS to respond to inquiries from state governments “to verify or ascertain the citizenship or immigration status of any individual within the jurisdiction of the agency for any purpose authorized by law.”
Rokita and Morales are requesting citizenship verification for 585,774 individuals, which is over 10 percent of the state’s registered voters. The voters in question have allegedly registered in Indiana either without providing a social security or driver’s license number, or while living overseas.
The last day to register to vote in Indiana was October 7, and Election Day is a little over three weeks away. So Rokita and Morales say time is of the essence. “We are thus at a critical juncture in this election cycle when verifying the integrity of Indiana’s voter rolls is of acute importance,” they urged. “Hoosiers deserve to know that only eligible voters will be participating in our elections, and that their votes will not be diluted or distorted by ballots cast by non-citizens.”
If and when the USCIS responds to the request remains to be seen. On Friday over a half-dozen voting advocacy groups issued a letter threatening legal action of their own if voters are illegally removed from the rolls. “There is no basis to single out these voters for heightened scrutiny as to their citizenship,” they said. The letter suggests that the state’s investigation is simply a last-minute stunt “to intimidate eligible voters and to decrease public confidence in the integrity of Indiana’s elections.” They reminded Rokita and Morales that federal law prohibits voter registrations from being removed within 90 days before an election and that the USCIS is not set up to verify citizenship.
