Utah Voter Audit Finds 27 Noncitizens on Registration Rolls
Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson announced an audit of 2 million voters found 27 confirmed noncitizens, prompting new proof-of-citizenship requirements for thousands of unverified registrants.
An audit of two million registered voters conducted by the office of Deidre Henderson found that 99.72% of Utah's voters are verified U.S. citizens. The review identified 27 confirmed noncitizens, who requested removal from the rolls, and 25 probable noncitizens who have 30 days to provide proof of citizenship or face removal. Henderson announced that 13 of the confirmed noncitizens had cast ballots in previous elections.
The audit revealed system vulnerabilities, such as human error in manual processing and an online program that allowed users to attest to citizenship even when driver's license data suggested otherwise. In response, the state passed HB209, which requires new voters to provide proof of citizenship for state and local elections.
Officials were unable to confirm the citizenship of 5,007 registrants, many of whom are legacy voters. The Lieutenant Governor's office will send letters to these individuals; those who fail to provide proof of citizenship will be restricted to voting on federal ballots only for the November elections. The review cross-referenced voter records against the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program and the Driver License Division.
