Do Non-Citizens Have the Right to Vote in Minnesota?

from Minnesota Majority

Election records suggest non-citizens cast ballots in the 2008 election

St. Paul – In the course of its ongoing research into irregularities into Minnesota’s election system, Minnesota Majority has discovered evidence that non-citizens may have voted in the 2008 election.

In September 2008, Representative Laura Brod (R, New Prague) contacted Secretary of State Mark Ritchie with concerns that non-citizens were apparently present on Minnesota’s voter registration rolls. State law requires drivers licenses issued to non-citizens residing in Minnesota on temporary visas must bear the mark “status check.” That mark acts as a flag to law enforcement officials to check the expiration date of the individual’s visa to verify they are still legal visitors. Visa information also appears in the computerized Department of Public Safety Records. A comparison of DPS records with the statewide voter registration list revealed several non-citizens had somehow become registered to vote, which is in itself illegal.

Several weeks prior to the election, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie held a press conference in which indicated that he was unaware that the DPS had, for nearly two years, been providing his office with a monthly list of drivers’ license records containing non-citizen visa information. He thanked Representative Brod for bringing the issue to his attention. He also assured the public that his office would be checking this information prior to the election and that appropriate challenges would be issued at polling places to prevent non-citizens from voting.

A review of 2008 election records by Minnesota Majority shows that many of the non-citizens Representative Brod originally brought to the attention of the Secretary of State prior to last year’s election are still on active voter registration rolls and several actually appear to have voted in the 2008 general election.

“I can’t understand it,” said Jeff Davis, Minnesota Majority’s president, “Representative Brod provided the Secretary of State with the list of names. She pointed right at the problem. Secretary Ritchie acknowledged the problem and said that he had corrected it. But now we find that election records show these people are still on the rolls and several actually voted. If these records are accurate, this is an unconscionable failure to safeguard the integrity of our elections.”

Minnesota Majority has also received reports from election poll watchers that same-day registrants with “status check” flags on their identification cards were allowed to register and vote in the 2008 election. A formal complaint filed by one poll watcher states that an official from the Secretary of State’s office told precinct election officials that the words “status check” on a voter’s identification card was not justification to deny a vote to anyone. Only non-citizens have driver’s licenses or state-issued identifications marked “status check” as this is an indication that the person is visiting the US on a visa.

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