Staff Reports
State election officials gathered last week for a showdown that could easily be mistaken for a political talent show rather than a discussion on November’s voting preparations. In one corner, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose flexed by announcing he had eradicated the names of 600 noncitizens from his state’s voter rolls over the past year. Not to be outdone, West Virginia’s Andrew “Mac” Warner threw down the gauntlet, proudly boasting of removing 400,000 names from the rolls, a feat that sounds more like the ticket sales for a rock concert than responsible election management. Meanwhile, Florida’s Secretary of State Cord Byrd, ever the overachiever, announced a staggering 1 million names had been scrubbed from his state’s active-voter list since 2022.
In the midst of this GOP name-clearing contest, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, representing the other side of the aisle, cautiously chimed in. She claimed to have removed 800,000 names over five years, which, admittedly, sounds impressive but isn’t quite on par with Florida’s electoral blitz. This unexpected boasting from a Democrat about removing names from voter lists is the type of political turnaround that would’ve been laughable just five years ago. Lauren Bowman from the Public Interest Legal Foundation highlighted the shift in mindset following the 2020 election, suggesting that the pressing need for election integrity has now balanced the past obsession with easing ballot access.
States rush to clean voter rolls after 2020 election questions https://t.co/G1nPtby8Yr
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) September 15, 2024
The 1993 National Voter Registration Act, fondly dubbed Motor Voter, aimed to make voting easier but also nudged states towards keeping their voter rolls clean. However, with the pandemic-driven chaos of the 2020 election, the notorious issue of messy voter rolls became a hot topic. With many states hastily mailing ballots, it became increasingly necessary to ensure ballots were sent to legitimate voters. It seems that, miraculously, one good thing did emerge from the otherwise tumultuous 2020 election cycle: increased scrutiny over voter registration.
The hearing itself was a classic display of partisan divides, particularly surrounding the contentious issue of noncitizen voting. Democratic officials downplayed concerns, arguing that noncitizen voting was, at best, a ghost story. The Secretary of State for New Mexico asserted that noncitizen voting was essentially non-existent in her state and nationwide, while her Arizona counterpart dismissed it as a “fake problem.” Both officials criticized the proof of citizenship requirements established by voters, claiming the laws were more about voter suppression than safeguarding elections.
On the flip side, Republican-led states have been identifying noncitizens on their rolls and claiming responsibility for cleaning up their lists. Virginia reported finding 6,300 potential noncitizens, Alabama cited 3,200, and Texas added 6,500 names to the trash pile, with almost 2,000 of those individuals having previously cast ballots. LaRose’s reference to noncitizen voting was reminiscent of a TSA briefing: just because something is illegal doesn’t mean it isn’t happening, and it’s clear many states are taking action to ensure their rolls do not reflect any phantom voters.
Minnesota is under the microscope as the Republican National Committee raised alarms over the state’s automatic voter registration system allegedly mailing out ballots to noncitizens. The state’s recent review of over 103,000 names resulted in a mere 1,000 suspensions—hardly a robust response to the potential noncitizen issue. Governor Tim Walz, who has aspirations to dance with the Democrats in the vice-presidential spotlight, faces criticism for what some describe as his lax oversight of state voter rolls. Minnesota’s public safety commissioner tried to provide cover, touting the state’s commitment to fair elections, but even the most steadfast defense can’t drown out the suspicion sneaking in through the cracks.
The tension between election integrity and celebratory remarks over list purging continued to brew, especially for someone like Benson from Michigan, who, while patting herself on the back for her list removals, chose to downplay the significance of noncitizen voting altogether. Critics noted that her inability to effectively manage the list, taking years to address the 26,000 deceased registrants still on the rolls, raises eyebrows. With this backdrop of competition and concern over who’s clearing the most names, it’s clear that as the November election looms, states will be under pressure to ensure their voter rolls are not just clean but secure.
