10/29/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/29/2024 09:43
As Indiana's Chief Election Officer and a U.S. naturalized citizen, himself, Secretary Morales recently sent an open letter to the Hoosier Press Association highlighting the importance of a secure system that upholds public trust- particularly when it comes to verifying U.S. citizenship among registered voters. The full letter can be found here.
"Many voters and local officials have shared concerns about the potential for non-citizens to register to vote under what is currently an 'honor system' for citizenship verification. My responsibility, as your Secretary of State, is to address these concerns and provide assurance that our elections are protected from unlawful participation," said Diego Morales, Indiana Secretary of State.
Secretary Morales has taken several initiatives to safeguard Indiana's elections including sending a letter to USCIS requesting confirmation for Indiana registrations made without credentials. His office is also distributing multilingual "Vote Here" signs which also remind voters that only U.S. citizens can vote and that a photo ID is required.
Secretary Morales likened the approach to common sense practices for verification and security in other areas of daily life, stating, "When attending a large concert or boarding a flight, everyone shows their ticket and goes through a security check. This isn't a challenge to anyone's integrity - it's simply common sense. Likewise, verifying voter eligibility is a practical measure that respects the integrity of every eligible voter as well as the entire election process," said Secretary Morales.
Secretary Morales has also shared real-world examples where non-citizens, unintentionally or otherwise, ended up registered to vote due to administrative errors or language barriers. There have been cases where individuals who checked 'No' to citizenship on registration forms were still mistakenly added to the voter rolls. In other cases, migrants issued temporary humanitarian visas and IDs were erroneously told that they could use those IDs to vote. Such cases, while limited, highlight the need for improvements to ensure accuracy in voter registration and maintain voter confidence.
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