State elections chief pushes back against criticism over voter roll citizenship review

Diego Morales

Secretary of State Diego Morales, facing mounting criticism over a decision to review the citizenship status of more than 585,000 registered voters, fired back in a two-page letter Tuesday—maintaining that the move is meant to foster trust in the election process.

He likened the state’s citizenship verification process for some to an “honor system” and said local election officials had reached out with concerns.

“There has been a critical outcry from some, that not relying of the “honor system” for U.S. Citizenship is somehow mean spirited or unpatriotic. I disagree. I’m sure virtually no respectable Hoosier would try to sneak into a Taylor Swift concert, or attend a Colts game, or board a commercial airline, without a ticket, or carrying a prohibited item,” Morales wrote.

“Still, despite our trust in people’s honesty, it’s virtually unquestioned that everyone attending a concert or game, or boarding an airplane, will be asked for their ticket and screened for dangerous, prohibited items. Asking everyone is not discriminatory, accusatory, mean-spirited, or unpatriotic – it’s basic common sense,” he continued.

But voting advocates disagree, saying that some eligible Hoosiers could be removed from the voter roll in violation of the National Voter Registration Act.

“Efforts like this put thousands of eligible voters at risk of being intimidated or unfairly removed from the rolls,” said Ami Gandhi, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Midwest Voting Rights Program at Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, in a release. “The NVRA was designed to protect voters from arbitrary and discriminatory practices. Indiana’s actions could strip eligible citizens of their right to vote.”

Under the law, states cannot remove voters in the 90 days leading up to an election. Previously, Morales said any voters flagged by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would be forwarded to local counties for further action.

More from Morales’ letter

Morales said in Tuesday’s letter to the Hoosier State Press Association that he didn’t believe the 585,774 registered voters getting additional scrutiny were all non-citizens, but said he knew “for a fact” that there are some non-U.S. citizens on Indiana’s voting rolls who have been issued a government ID which would allow them to vote.

He shared the story of one such man who, upon realizing he was mistakenly registered to vote, contacted Morales’ office to remove himself from the voter roll. It was determined that a clerical error had occurred and the man had done nothing wrong.

Another person was prompted to register while at a BMV branch. Under the national voter act, state agencies interacting with the public must inquire about and offer assistance with registering to vote. This, Morales said, was “the most common way that non-citizens end up on Indiana’s voter registration list.”

“Before I became a naturalized citizen, I recall visiting a BMV branch and being asked if I wanted to register to vote. I knew enough English to say no, others however, may lack sufficient English comprehension to understand what was being asked or the ramifications,” Morales said.

Utilizing USCIS was an “unobtrusive screening,” Morales said, adding that it was his “sincere hope” that USCIS would respond.

“Hopefully the activity will demonstrate to concerned Hoosiers that the issue is relatively small and limited. I hope that this can serve to increase confidence in our elections and among our citizens,” he said. “… I hope more Hoosier voters than ever vote on November 5th, including a record number of naturalized Hoosiers like me, and that they do so with confidence that my office has done all that it can to ensure the integrity of our elections.”

Indiana has the second-lowest voter turnout in the country, and Morales pointed to new signs explicitly instructing Hoosiers that only citizens could cast their ballots. The 5,000 signs—available in English and Spanish to local county precincts—cost $20,000.

The 12% of registered voters up for scrutiny includes those who registered without state-issued identification or a social security number—which wasn’t required until 2005—along with the 5,700 registrants living overseas.

The Secretary of State’s Office hasn’t responded to multiple requests to clarify whether those voters who registered pre-2005 are included in the letter to USCIS.

Part of a national trend?

The USCIS letter, co-signed by Attorney General Todd Rokita, appears to mirror other inquiries sent from Republican states, including Texas and South Carolina. Virginia, Alabama and Wisconsin are all facing lawsuits over voter roll actions.

A Washington Post analysis of the Heritage’s national database found 85 cases of non-citizen voting between 2022 and 2023. The consequences for a non-citizen who votes includes a fine, prison and even deportation.

Such disinformation efforts can discourage naturalized citizens from voting, especially those from the Latino community — a criticism lodged by the Indiana Latino Democratic Caucus.

“This action is a thinly veiled attempt to suppress the voices of Latino and minority communities, using fear and confusion to disenfranchise eligible voters,” said Karla Lopez-Owens, the president of the INLDC, in a release last week. “These efforts are part of a broader trend to undermine the democratic process and create unnecessary barriers for marginalized communities, especially naturalized citizens who have every right to vote.”

The organization has more information—in Spanish and English—at www.inlatinodems.com/vota-indiana.

The Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights also oversees hotlines in several languages, including:

• • English: 866-OUR-VOTE
  • Spanish/English: 888-VE-Y-VOTA
  • Arabic/English: 844-YALLA-US
  • Asian Languages (Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Urdu, Hindi, and Bengali)/English: 888-API-VOTE

The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.