The Alaska Division of Elections sent approximately 3,000 letters to registered voters asking them to verify their citizenship status in advance of the state’s August 18 primary election. Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher characterized the number as unusually high, noting that the routine process of comparing voter rolls with Department of Motor Vehicles records typically results in around 200 names requiring further review.
Beecher attributed the elevated figure to what appeared to be outdated information incorporated during the maintenance process. State lawmakers, including Democratic representatives Andrew Gray and Ashley Carrick, raised concerns about the effort. Gray reported that constituents who contacted his office about the letters identified themselves as U.S. citizens. Carrick questioned whether the verification drive related to Alaska’s decision to share detailed voter data with the U.S. Department of Justice, though Beecher denied any connection, stating the information came specifically from DMV records.
The Division of Elections indicated that recipients of the letters need not provide documentation to verify citizenship, instead allowing them to respond by mail, phone, or email. Those who do not respond are placed on an inactive voter list but retain the ability to cast a special ballot that requires voters to attest to their voting qualifications. Beecher described the measure as a safeguard to ensure only citizens vote without disenfranchising voters.
The memo released by the Division of Motor Vehicles revealed that the Division of Elections had submitted approximately 15,200 DMV records in March and requested citizenship information. The DMV subsequently provided records where its latest confirmed status was “other than ‘Citizen.” Officials suggested that discrepancies may occur when individuals obtained driver’s licenses before becoming citizens and later gained citizenship without updating their DMV records. Voting and civil rights organizations have challenged Alaska’s sharing of voter information with federal authorities in ongoing litigation.
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