[EL] Verifying Citizenship For Voter Registration
Kevin Benson
kbenson at whitehartlaw.com
Tue Feb 14 08:13:33 PST 2017
Our Secretary of State is proposing to crosscheck the voter registration
database with Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program
(SAVE).
https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/cegavske-no-evidence-illegal-votes-voter-registration-fraud-bigger-people-realize
I am not familiar with SAVE, but just off the cuff I'd hazard a guess
that access is limited to certain programs, as a matter of federal law.
But that's a wag. I'd be interested in hearing others' thoughts on
whether this can be done, with or without a change in federal law, and
if so, what the quality of the system is and whether it would work for
voter registration.
Kevin
--
Kevin Benson, Esq.
White Hart Law
2310 S. Carson Street #6
Carson City, NV 89701
(775) 461-3780
kbenson at whitehartlaw.com
On 2/14/2017 6:31 AM, Jon Sherman wrote:
> 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
> <mailto: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
> <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87096>
>
> Rick
>
> *From: *<law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
> <mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>> on behalf
> of Thessalia Merivaki <liamerivaki at gmail.com
> <mailto:liamerivaki at gmail.com>>
> *Date: *Monday, February 13, 2017 at 3:24 PM
> *To: *"Pildes, Rick" <pildesr at mercury.law.nyu.edu
> <mailto:pildesr at mercury.law.nyu.edu>>
> *Cc: *Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu
> <mailto: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 <tel:%28352%29%20871-5260>
>
> Office Phone: 727-873-4495 <tel:%28727%29%20873-4495>
>
> http://www.usfsp.edu/hp/full-time/thessalia-merivaki/
> <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 <mailto: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
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=90668> and
> https://electionlawblog.org/?p=89545
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=89545> and
>
> https://electionlawblog.org/?p=87732
> <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 <tel:%28212%29%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 <tel:%28352%29%20871-5260>
>
> Office Phone: 727-873-4495 <tel:%28727%29%20873-4495>
>
> http://www.usfsp.edu/hp/full-time/thessalia-merivaki/
> <http://www.usfsp.edu/hp/full-time/thessalia-merivaki/>
>
>
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>
>
>
>
> --
> Jon Sherman
> Counsel
> Fair Elections Legal Network <http://www.fairelectionsnetwork.com/>*
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