TN elections officials dodge questions on citizenship letters, citing lawsuit threat
Tennessee elections officials are declining to answer specific questions about how they determined who to send more than 14,000 letters to demanding proof of U.S. citizenship, citing "the threat of potential litigation."
Weeks ahead of the Aug. 1 primary elections, Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins sent letters to 14,375 “potential non-U.S. citizens” asking for proof of citizenship and noting penalties for illegal voting. The move raised concern in Tennessee's immigrant communities and sparked outrage from Democratic lawmakers who called the move an attempt at voter intimidation.
Several of the letters were sent to longtime U.S. citizens who have voted regularly for years, and have a history of civic engagement, including jury duty.
The letters request the residents mail in proof of citizenship to the state Division of Elections in the form of a copy of their birth certificate, passport, or naturalization document ― or request to be removed from the state’s voter rolls. A postage-paid envelope was included with the letter so that recipients can respond at no cost.
Doug Kufner, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Secretary of State's office, said the office has started to receive responses to the letters.
“The Division of Elections has received responses, and they have been overwhelmingly positive from citizens wanting to correct their information,” Kufner told The Tennessean in an email.
But since last week, Goins, through the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office, has declined to offer any further details, citing “the threat of potential litigation.” Inquiries were referred to the Attorney General’s office.
Because of the lack of answers, it’s not clear whether state law on the enforcement of voter rolls was directly followed.
State law requires the state coordinator of elections to compare the statewide voter registration database with Department of Safety records to ensure non-citizens are not registered to vote. Officials are also authorized to compare the voter registration database with federal and state databases for the same purpose.
If there is evidence that a particular registered voter is not a U.S. citizen, the elections coordinator is required to notify the voter’s county election commission — not send a letter directly from the state Division of Elections.
More: 14,000 Tennesseans sent letters requesting proof of citizenship ahead of election
County election commissions may then send a notice to the voter requesting proof of citizenship. Proof must be provided within 30 days, or the voter may be removed from voter rolls.
The Division of Elections has not responded to an inquiry from The Tennessean on whether officials compared names of letter recipients with the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database prior to contacting the voters.
Officials have also declined to answer questions about what information officials received from the Department of Safety to indicate that letter recipients were not legal U.S. citizens.
Officials have also not clarified whether voters who received a letter who are already U.S. citizens must take any required action before participating in the Aug. 1 elections.
Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com or on X at @Vivian_E_Jones.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Elections officials dodge questions on citizenship letters: ‘potential litigation’
