More than 3,000 registered voters in Alaska have been asked to verify their U.S. citizenship ahead of the primary election scheduled for August 18. The Alaska Division of Elections reported that approximately 3,048 letters were mailed to voters, a number significantly higher than the usual 200 flagged during routine voter roll maintenance. This increase may be due to outdated information in the state Division of Motor Vehicles records.
Voters who receive these letters will be moved to inactive status but will not be removed from the voter rolls. Those who do not respond can still cast a provisional ballot by affirming under oath that they meet the voting qualifications. Election officials noted that no supporting documentation is required to verify citizenship, and voters who respond will be restored to active status.
Some Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns that naturalized citizens or others could be incorrectly flagged due to discrepancies in state agency records. Alaska election officials are investigating the reasons behind the high number of flagged voters this year.
This review comes amid heightened discussions about election security and noncitizen voting ahead of the midterm elections. Recently, New Jersey reported that about 6,600 noncitizens were mistakenly registered to vote due to a software error in the state's motor vehicle system, with fewer than 400 casting ballots. The Trump administration has used this situation to advocate for more stringent voter citizenship verification.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has called on states to compare voter rolls with federal immigration records and warned that jurisdictions failing to adopt federal election security measures could face penalties. Alaska has agreed to share voter information with the federal government as part of broader election security efforts, although state officials stated that the recent citizenship review was based on DMV data and not prompted by federal agencies.