Two states face mounting challenges as their automatic voter registration system inadvertently allows hundreds of non-citizens onto voter rolls.
According to Just the News, a recent election integrity report by the Public Interest Legal Foundation reveals that South Dakota and Oregon discovered non-citizens on their voter rolls in 2024, attributing the error to their automatic voter registration systems.
The situation came to light when South Dakota identified 273 non-citizens incorrectly registered through the state's driver's license department. Oregon's case proved more severe, with officials discovering 1,617 non-citizens on voter rolls between September and November 2024, including nine who had already cast ballots.
The problem extends beyond these two states, as 24 states and Washington D.C. currently implement automatic voter registration. This system, which registers individuals to vote when they interact with government agencies like departments of motor vehicles, has shown consistent flaws across multiple jurisdictions.
States with higher immigration rates face increased risks of non-citizen registration due to more frequent interactions with DMVs for driver's licenses and state IDs. The National Voter Registration Act provides the most common pathway for inadvertent foreign national registration, particularly in states offering driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants.
Previous implementations of automatic voter registration in other states have revealed similar issues. California encountered problems with tens of thousands of registrations and registered 1,500 ineligible people, while Illinois reported hundreds of non-citizens being incorrectly registered.
Oregon's Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade took immediate action after discovering the extent of the problem. The state created a new oversight position specifically for DMV voter registration and initiated a third-party audit of the motor voter program.
Governor Tina Kotek ordered an immediate pause on automatic voter registration until a data expert panel could complete a comprehensive review. The decision came after multiple waves of discoveries, with the initial finding of 306 non-citizens in September growing to 1,259 later that month.
The DMV attributed part of the problem to a 2021 law allowing non-citizens to receive driver's licenses, combined with incorrect document classification in their system. They have since implemented new procedures to prevent similar errors.
While federal law prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal and most state elections, some municipalities have different rules. Several jurisdictions in California, Maryland, Vermont, and Washington D.C. permit non-citizen voting in local elections, creating additional complexity in voter roll management.
PILF President J. Christian Adams stated:
Automatic Voter Registration is a flawed policy that puts aliens on voter rolls. Policymakers should reject automatic voter registration. They cause chaos on the rolls and put immigrants in legal jeopardy.
The verification process for identifying non-citizen voters relies heavily on self-reporting, particularly during naturalization procedures. This creates additional challenges for maintaining accurate voter rolls.
The discovery of non-citizens on voter rolls in South Dakota and Oregon has exposed significant flaws in automatic voter registration systems. Both states have implemented corrective measures, with South Dakota using the U.S. Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system to verify citizenship status and Oregon creating new oversight positions.
