Routine check of DMV data flagged far more voters than usual
The Alaska Division of Elections sent 3,048 letters asking registered voters to verify their U.S. citizenship ahead of the Aug. 18 primary — a number state officials said far exceeded the roughly 200 names a routine data comparison typically produces.
State Director of Elections Carol Beecher told lawmakers during a hearing that the division had compared its voter registration list with records held by the Division of Motor Vehicles as part of regular voter roll maintenance. This time, the match returned far more potential discrepancies than usual.
“It appears that a lot of old data was picked up somehow,” Beecher said.
Division spokesperson Steve Kirch later clarified the total number of letters was 3,048, correcting Beecher’s initial estimate of about 3,500. Under Alaska law, only U.S. citizens may register and vote.
Some state lawmakers at the hearing told Beecher that constituents who are known U.S. citizens had received the letters. The lawmakers expressed concern that eligible voters had been flagged by mistake.
Research cited by the Associated Press has shown noncitizen voting to be extremely rare. President Donald Trump and his allies have claimed it is widespread. The Trump administration has pushed for federal legislation requiring documentary proof of citizenship at voter registration and pursued a halted executive order seeking to create a federal list of verified voters.