Gessler refers 155 non-citizen voters to district attorneys

Federal government flagged non-citizens who voted in Colorado elections

Denver, July 1, 2013 - Today Secretary of State Scott Gessler referred 155 cases of non-citizen voters to local district attorneys for investigation. Each of these individuals showed the equivalent of a green card to the DMV and during an additional check was flagged by the federal government as a non-citizen.

"Under Colorado law, only citizens can vote in our elections," Gessler said. "We tried to prevent illegal votes before the election, but now we have no choice but to refer these cases to law enforcement for investigation and prosecution."

Last year, Gessler sought to work with lawmakers to pass legislation that would have provided election officials with better information and would have set clear procedures for removing non-citizens from the voter rolls. The bill failed in the Senate on a party-line vote.

"I’m frustrated that the partisan legislature turned its back on prevention. Rather than help people follow the law, they instead want to punish them. Their approach undermines election integrity and is frankly a heartless way to treat immigrants." 

In August, 2012, the Secretary of State’s office proposed a hearing process so that registered voters who were flagged as non-citizens could either correct any errors or be removed from the voter rolls. But during public comment Democratic leader Sen. Pat Steadman (D-Denver) said that the office should "walk away" from this approach, noting that the law already contains a remedy for non-citizens voting- criminal investigation and prosecution.

Gessler nonetheless continued to seek ways to prevent problems, working closely with the United States Department of Homeland Security to verify the citizenship status of voters who also showed proof of non-citizenship to Colorado’s Department of Motor Vehicles. For voters flagged as non-citizens by the Department of Homeland Security, Gessler sent mailings asking them to either update their citizenship status with the federal government, or cancel their voter registration. He also asked county clerk and recorders for assistance.

"We can no longer turn a blind eye to this vulnerability in our election system," Gessler said. "I’ve invited suggestions from legislators and policymakers on how to better protect the integrity of our voter rolls- rather than solve problems, Democratic legislators only want to criticize. When it comes to election integrity, they seem to think that it’s okay if people break into your house- as long as they don’t steal too much."

In the 2012 election cycle, election officials removed over 300 non-citizens from the voter rolls, and using federal data the Secretary of State has identified an additional 444 likely non-citizens. Some county clerk and recorders, however, have refused to act on citizenship information from the federal government.

Below is a list of the number of potential non-citizen voters referred to district attorneys, broken down by judicial district and the date voters were notified of potential problems in their registration.