“It is not disenfranchising the individual from being able to vote, but it’s a measure the division has to take to make sure that we only have citizens voting.”
The state of Alaska has sent over 3,000 letters to voters asking them to verify their US citizenship ahead of the August 18 primary. State officials said that the number of letters sent out was unusually high.
The letter asks those who received it to verify their citizenship via phone, email, or letter, but is not requiring paperwork or documentation, according to Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher. The election official told state lawmakers that "a lot of old data was picked up somehow" when it was conducting voter roll maintenance this time around. There are usually only about 200 names when the state election division conducts the review.
The 3,048 letters were sent out as the Trump administration has been pushing for more election security ahead of the 2026 midterms with efforts to pass the SAVE America Act. Earlier this week, revelations about New Jersey's election showed that 6,600 noncitizens were registered to vote, and a preliminary review from the state said that around 400 were able to cast votes in elections.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill blamed the software company that is integrated in the New Jersey DMV system, claiming that a glitch switched tons of noncitizens to being registered to vote. The software company disagreed and said that the fault lies with the state approving noncitizens to vote.
The case in New Jersey has been seen as evidence that the SAVE America Act would nationalize a voter ID and proof of citizenship requirement in elections. Meanwhile, Democrats have continued to say that the law is not needed, claiming that noncitizens registering to vote is rare and it is already illegal.
Beecher said that those who got the letters have been moved to a list of "inactive" voters. If the elections division does not hear back, they will still be able to cast their vote if they fill out a special ballot. “It is not disenfranchising the individual from being able to vote, but it’s a measure the division has to take to make sure that we only have citizens voting," Beecher said.
Those who respond to the letter will become active voters again. Alaska is one of 16 states that have provided or said that it would provide voter roll data to the Trump administration as the White House has continued to push for heavier election security measures.
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