Here's the CO report:
http://cha.house.gov/images/stories/documents/co_non_citizen_report.pdf

Some quick thoughts while I am at the Midwest Political Science
Conference trying to avoid hearing Paul Gronke tell me about "the good
old days" :

1) I'm not sure if people carry "green cards" around more easily than
other documents, but it's possible that some few people that are
recently naturalized citizens found it easier to present their old
green card to prove "lawful presence" than to present a passport they
didn't have or whatever certificate you get at a naturalization
ceremony. I assume most new citizens wouldn't do this, but a few
might. Or if they've used that paperwork in the past, they may just
figure "this is what they want" the next time they go to the DMV.

Thus, the following statement in the report (repeated in some form in
other places in the report) seems to jump the gun: "...106 individuals
presented the Department of Revenue with a non-citizen document after
the date they registered to vote. It is nearly certain that these 106
non-citizens are improperly registered to vote, because they were
registered on or before the day they applied for a license using a
non-citizenship document."

2) As a rhetorical matter: The hype of a number that is likely going
to be winnowed down on further inspection is of interest. How did the
SOS present the data vs. what have they really got? For instance, is
this statement precise given the hedges that should come with it: "It
is likely that many of the 4,947 voters were not citizens when they
cast their vote in 2010" (page 5)?  The define likely based on how
long it takes to become a citizen, but I didn't see that they had data
on the dates on the green cards, etc. that were used.


3) In the end, the best evidence that some non-citizens mistakenly
register is "the Department of State’s own database shows that over
the last two years 154 people initially registered to vote as
non-citizens but then voluntarily withdrew their registrations" (page
4). However, they don't say more about this.

4) Eventually, what policy goal is being pushed here? If they push
policies ("the authority to administratively resolve citizenship
questions") that complicates voter registration for more citizens than
were ever shown to have illegally registered, what is the cost-benefit
analysis? The better policy would be to ensure that forms and
eligibility to register are not misunderstood (since intent is likely
rare) and that penalties for doing so are clear (in the rare cases of
intent).

5) It might be interesting to see if the DMV registration process in
CO is so integrated into their paperwork or electronics that people
are signing where or when they shouldn't be...i.e., impromper
registrations that are inadvertent could be fixed by clearing up the
paperwork not adding to it.

Doug Hess

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