Jacob Fuller, FISM News
The Colorado Secretary of State’s office claimed it “accidentally” mailed 30,000 postcards with voter registration instructions last week to non-citizens living in the state.
As first reported by Colorado Public Radio News, the postcards were sent to non-citizens who have driver’s licenses in the state. They read, “Make sure your voice is heard this November” and then direct readers to “Register to VOTE today at www.GoVoteColorado.gov”.
The office of Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) said that if someone who is not a citizen attempts to register to vote, the state’s system will prevent them from doing so.
“The Department has become aware that approximately 30,000 EBU [Eligible But Unregistered] postcard mailers were incorrectly sent to ineligible Coloradans,” a spokesperson for the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office said. “The office is undertaking an internal review of the incident and will take any corrective action that is warranted.”
The postcards were printed in English and Spanish, and also read, “A message from Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold.”
According to the CPR News report, “the office said the problem occurred when the state compared a list of potential unregistered voters from a multi-state group Colorado belongs to, with local DMV records. The DMV data included people who hold non-citizen driver’s licenses — which were created to allow people without legal residency to drive legally — but a formatting error caused the system not to flag them as ineligible.”
Colorado is among at least 18 states, along with the District of Columbia, that allow non-U.S. citizens to obtain driver’s licenses, according to the National Council on State Legislatures.
Griswold’s office said that they are in the process of sending out notices to the 30,000 recipients, along with reminders that they must be U.S. citizens to register to vote. They also told CPR News that they are taking additional steps to safeguard against non-citizen voting.
“The Department will also compare the list of approximately 30,000 individuals who incorrectly received the EBU mailer postcard to the statewide voter list on a daily basis to ensure none of those individuals register. County clerks refer illegal registrations to their local district attorney for review,” the spokesperson told CPR News.
Conservative commentators erupted on social media Monday and Tuesday as the news broke. J. Hogan Gidley, director of the Center for Election Integrity and former White House Deputy Press Secretary for President Donald Trump called the action “shameful.”
This is shameful.
Whether through stupidity, ignorance, laziness or maliciousness, election laws are being broken in this country.
There should be an investigation immediately! It’s time to hold our elected officials accountable.https://t.co/vqHP812f8v
— J. Hogan Gidley (@JHoganGidley) October 11, 2022