[EL] Verifying Citizenship For Voter Registration

Tue Feb 14 06:31:17 PST 2017

REAL ID has been fully implemented in some, if not most, states. I don't
know what that count is but some organization must track it. As you noted,
proof of US citizenship or legal presence is required, but what matters
more than what appears on the face of the card is whether the state DMV
database distinguishes between those who showed proof of US citizenship and
those who showed proof of legal presence but not US citizenship. Automatic
voter registration bills across the country are forcing conversations like
this because the success of AVR depends on DMV procedures in accepting,
verifying and maintaining records on applicants' proof of US citizenship.
So, for states with DMVs that are distinguishing between proof of US
citizenship and proof of lawful presence and maintaining accurate records,
it is possible for the state to use the DMV database to verify that someone
is a US citizen - at least for those voter registration applicants who hold
a DMV product. What they can't do is use the same database to verify that
someone is a non-citizen because the person may have naturalized since they
obtained a driver's license or state ID. I'm sure there are some states
that commingle proof of US citizenship and proof of lawful presence such
that they cannot rely on that database but I don't think that issue has
been comprehensively investigated. Hope this helps.

On Mon, Feb 13, 2017 at 10:57 PM, Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu> wrote:

> Another source of data is after-the-fact investigations of suspected voter
> fraud.   SOS Kobach, for example, has claimed noncitizen voting is a big
> problem but has not brought a single prosecution for that yet.
>
> Or there was this big study of Va non-citizen voting that found very
> little (despite the hype):
>
> http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87096
>
>
>
> Rick
>
>
>
>
>
> *From: *<law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> on behalf of
> Thessalia Merivaki <liamerivaki at gmail.com>
> *Date: *Monday, February 13, 2017 at 3:24 PM
> *To: *"Pildes, Rick" <pildesr at mercury.law.nyu.edu>
> *Cc: *Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
> *Subject: *Re: [EL] Verifying Citizenship For Voter Registration
>
>
>
> Individual rejected voter registration data show that states process voter
> registration applications differently. In Florida, if the citizen box is
> not checked, and if the SSN is missing, then the application is immediately
> rejected with the individual being marked as "non-citizen" and "missing
> SSN".
>
>
>
> In GA, individual applications are classified as "pending" if an
> applicant's citizenship status is being verified, and rejected if the
> applicant is a non-citizen.
>
>
>
> It is not very clear as to whether a non-citizen list exists that the
> election officials consult, but it is a question worth asking them on how
> they do it. My inquiries in Pinellas county, FL for instance, were very
> fruitful in understanding how local elections officials process these
> forms.
>
>
>
>
>
> Thessalia Merivaki, Ph.D.
>
>
>
> Visiting Assistant Professor
>
> Department of History and Politics
>
> Davis 234
>
> University of South Florida, St. Petersburg
>
> 352-871-5260 <(352)%20871-5260>
>
> Office Phone: 727-873-4495 <(727)%20873-4495>
>
> http://www.usfsp.edu/hp/full-time/thessalia-merivaki/
>
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 13, 2017 at 5:18 PM, Pildes, Rick <pildesr at mercury.law.nyu.edu>
> wrote:
>
> I would appreciate help with this question, for purposes of upcoming
> classes:
>
>
>
> When registering to vote, people must check a box indicating their
> citizenship status and sign the form, with criminal penalties for perjury
> if they have knowingly falsified their status.
>
>
>
> For a State that is concerned about whether non-citizens are registering,
> despite this oath, what (if anything) can the State lawfully do to verify
> the citizenship status of potential voters?
>
>
>
> Most students are surprised to learn there is no national data base of
> citizens against which a State could check status.  Dan Tokaji has informed
> me that the Real ID Act does not provide an answer, even if it were fully
> implemented in the states (which it's not).  People are required to provide
> evidence of lawful status to get a qualifying Real ID, but permanent
> residents and asylum applicants are allowed to get it, and the ID itself
> isn't required to show citizenship or immigration status.  We know there
> are certain things the States cannot do, such as demand that the federal
> voter-registration form require documentary proof of citizenship at the
> time of registration.
>
>
>
> The same question arises for academic researchers who might be interested
> in trying to determine whether any non-citizens actually register to vote
> (whether in mistaken belief or otherwise) and if so, how many.  How would a
> researcher go about trying to get data on this question?
>
>
>
> The controversy over the Richman et. al. studies and the critiques of
> those studies, which have been highlighted on this blog, don’t answer this
> question.  See https://electionlawblog.org/?p=90668 and
> https://electionlawblog.org/?p=89545 and
>
> https://electionlawblog.org/?p=87732.  These issues concern what to make
> of the self-reporting of individuals on their citizenship and registration
> status in the CCES surveys.  If we accept that the Richman studies are
> meaningless, for reasons these critiques identify, that still does not give
> us an affirmative answer.  Moreover, in the Ansolabehere/Luks/Schaffner
> re-survey of the 19,000 respondents to the CCES survey of 2010, 99.25%
> report being citizens – so this pool is obviously not representative of the
> citizen/non-citizen population in general, let alone in border States like
> TX, AZ, and NV (even if we agree to rely on self-reporting).
>
>
>
> I’m inclined to tell my students there is nothing States currently can do
> to verify the citizenship status of those who register to vote as
> citizens.  But if I am missing something, I’d appreciate hearing before
> reporting that.  Even if that’s right, that does not mean there is a
> problem, of course.  My own instinct is to think there isn’t a meaningful
> problem.  I suspect the most reliable place to find credible information
> would come from election-contest litigation, in which each ballot is
> examined one by one.  But I’d appreciate any further insights.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Rick
>
>
>
> Richard H. Pildes
>
> Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law
>
> NYU School of Law
>
> 40 Washington Square South, NY, NY 10012
>
> 212 998-6377 <(212)%20998-6377>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Thessalia Merivaki, Ph.D.
>
>
>
> Visiting Assistant Professor
>
> Department of History and Politics
>
> Davis 234
>
> University of South Florida, St. Petersburg
>
> 352-871-5260 <(352)%20871-5260>
>
> Office Phone: 727-873-4495 <(727)%20873-4495>
>
> http://www.usfsp.edu/hp/full-time/thessalia-merivaki/
>
> _______________________________________________
> Law-election mailing list
> Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
> http://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election
>

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