Colorado Secretary of
State Scott Gessler's Effort to Identify Non-Citizen Voters
PRESS RELEASES from Colorado
Department of State
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 16, 2012
MEDIA CONTACTS: Rich Coolidge
Andrew Cole
Gessler statement on
meeting with Department of Homeland Security
Colorado
to work with DHS to verify citizenship of registered voters
Denver, Colorado - Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler released
the following statement today after meeting with an official from the
Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for
Entitlements (SAVE) program. The meeting follows a July 9 letter from
Secretary Gessler again requesting assistance from the Department of
Homeland Security to verify the citizenship status of people who are
registered to vote in Colorado.
"As Colorado's chief election official, protecting our elections is my
top priority. I’m pleased that DHS has agreed to work with states to
verify the citizenship of people on the voter rolls and help reduce our
vulnerability. Coloradans deserve to know we have these most basic
protections for election integrity."
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2012
MEDIA CONTACTS: Rich Coolidge
Andrew Cole
Federal government
provides Colorado access to immigration database
Gessler's
office to verify voter citizenship status with SAVE program
Denver, Colorado - After weeks of prodding the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler signed an
agreement with the agency to access the Systematic Alien Verification
for Entitlements (SAVE) program. Gessler's office will begin comparing
voters who showed a non-citizen document to the Division of Motor
Vehicles with the SAVE database to verify their citizenship status.
"This system will help us verify whether individuals who showed
proof of non-citizenship have in fact become naturalized since
registering to vote," Gessler said. "My office is focused on protecting
Colorado elections and we’ll continue to work with these individuals to
preserve their voter registration or help them withdraw if they’re
wrongly listed on the rolls."
Last week, Gessler’s office mailed letters to almost 4,000 registered
voters who at one time presented proof of non-citizenship.
"I’m heartened by the cooperation of these individuals who either
proudly displayed their naturalization papers or withdrew their
registrations," Gessler said. "Each of these people help improve the
integrity of Colorado’s voter rolls."
For those individuals who don’t respond to the letters, Gessler
announced that his office will hold hearings prior to taking any action
on their voter records. His office will hold a public meeting on
Wednesday at 1:00 to discuss the hearing process.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 30, 2012
MEDIA CONTACTS: Rich Coolidge
Andrew Cole
1 in 8 voters who
received letters trending as non-citizens
Registered
voters who presented non-citizen documents respond to letters
Denver, Colorado - Today, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler
released the results from letters mailed to possible non-citizens on
the voter rolls showing that one in eight voters who showed a
non-citizen document to the DMV remain ineligible. The letters asked
them to either voluntarily withdraw their voter registration or affirm
that they are naturalized citizens. The results are as follows:
3,903 letters sent
1,011 voters moved with no forwarding address
482 voters affirmed their citizenship
16 voters voluntarily withdrew their registrations
"Each of these residents helps improve the integrity of our voter rolls
and increases voter confidence across the state," Gessler said. "While
some prefer to fan partisan flames and score political points, these
residents share an interest in ensuring only eligible voters are
casting ballots."
Of the 3,903, the office verified 1,416 voters who had an alien
identification number on file with the DMV using the Systematic Alien
Verification and Entitlements (SAVE) system. The system identified 177
voters who require additional verification from the federal government
to confirm their citizenship status. 42 of these voters have voted in
Colorado elections. This analysis shows one in eight of these
identified voters remain non-citizens and ineligible to vote.
"We identified a vulnerability, and this effort helps protect our
elections," Gessler said. "When some races hinge on just a handful of
votes, every vote counts. My goal is to make it easy to vote, but tough
to cheat."
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2012
MEDIA CONTACTS: Rich Coolidge
Andrew Cole
Federal government
confirms another 300 noncitizen voters
SAVE
database flags 441 noncitizen registered voters this year
Denver, Colorado - Today, Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced
that the Department of Homeland Security identified another 300
Colorado voters as non-citizens. Gessler notified county clerks and
transmitted the names to them for follow-up hearings. The latest round
of verifications came after Gessler worked with the Division of Motor
Vehicles to secure alien identification numbers, which are required by
the Department of Homeland Security's immigration database.
"It's unacceptable to have ineligible voters casting ballots in our
elections," Gessler said. "We want to ensure the most accurate,
reliable elections possible."
Gessler's office mailed notices to these voters confirming the federal
government's findings and alerting them to their options to verify
their citizenship or remove their registration.
"Though the timing is not ideal, I felt it was important to alert these
voters that the federal government says they're not citizens," Gessler
said. "We want to remove any confusion about voting requirements. An
illegal vote reduces the integrity of our election and jeopardizes
someone's path to citizenship."
Gessler's office originally identified 3,903 voters who previously
showed proof of noncitizenship when they received their driver's
licenses. Among that group, the office verified 1,416 voters against
the Systematic Alien Verification and Entitlements (SAVE) system and
confirmed 141 voters as non-citizens. After securing additional
identification numbers for the remaining voters and verifying through
the SAVE system, the office confirmed another 300 voters as
non-citizens. In all, Gessler referred 441 non-citizen voters to the
county clerks.
Additionally, Gessler also forwarded the non-citizen voters to
Colorado's United States Attorney John Walsh and his assistant U.S.
Attorney Thomas O'Rourke, who was recently identified as the state's
U.S. Election Officer.
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