1 in 8 voters who received letters trending as non-citizens

Registered voters who presented non-citizen documents respond to letters

Denver, August 30, 2012 - 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."