After voters complain, Cass County asks North Dakota AG for clarity on proof-of-citizenship question

FARGO — After voting advocacy teams raised considerations about Fargo ballot employees asking voters for proof of citizenship throughout the June main election, the Cass County state’s legal professional has requested the North Dakota legal professional common to make clear the regulation.

Presently, state regulation makes no point out of getting potential voters show citizenship on the polls, based on a July 18 letter Cass County State’s Lawyer Birch Burdick despatched to North Dakota Lawyer Basic Drew Wrigley.

Within the letter, Burdick requests Wrigley’s opinion, saying though necessities for presenting a legitimate identification card on the voting sales space are clear, confusion nonetheless exists for individuals who current a non-citizen identification, however declare they’re now residents.

“Some considerations had been expressed throughout the main associated to election employees asking (or not) for proof of citizenship from potential voters whose government-issued ID famous they weren’t residents,” Burdick instructed The Discussion board in an e-mail.

“Albeit it might appear counter intuitive to some, the election legal guidelines don’t expressly require, and because of this would seem to not authorize, an election employee to require a person to supply documentation of their citizenship if the election employee has info that at one level that particular person was not a U.S. citizen, however the person states they’re now a citizen,” Burdick mentioned.

“After reviewing the matter, and clarifying how we should always deal with it on the day of the June election, I felt it vital to hunt clarification from the AG as to how the regulation needs to be interpreted for the November election,” Burdick mentioned.

In June, voting rights teams and different advocacy group organizers

acquired complaints

about folks of colour being requested to show their citizenship. The complaints spurred DeAnn Buckhouse, Cass County election coordinator, to observe the West Acres mall voting website in Fargo.

Presently, voters whose citizenship is in query can select to fill out a preliminary “put aside” poll after which affirm citizenship as soon as proof is offered, or in different instances they will go away and replace their handle with the North Dakota Division of Transportation and are available again, Buckhouse mentioned in June.

Burdick mentioned his letter looking for an legal professional common’s opinion “was not written on the urging of any voting rights teams. I merely discovered the regulation was not as clear because it may very well be concerning proof of citizenship. I felt it might be invaluable to get the clarification that solely the state AG can present to political subdivisions on that matter.”

Burdick’s letter seeks clarification on three points:

• If somebody presents identification indicating that in some unspecified time in the future they weren’t a U.S. citizen, however says they’re now a citizen, can election employees take them at their phrase?
• What sort of proof of citizenship needs to be thought-about passable?
• Can the “put aside” poll be passable proof if citizenship isn’t offered?

Wrigley mentioned his workplace has acquired the letter and is evaluating if it is a matter he ought to give an opinion on.
“We’re performing some analysis on some federal laws that impacts these conditions as properly. We’ll be addressing the query as it’s posed to us,” Wrigley mentioned.

“Voter integrity is important, and nevertheless our legal guidelines can assist make sure that, we should always all be unified in guaranteeing that everybody who desires to vote can achieve this so long as they’re a lawful voter. On the opposite facet of that equation non-citizens voting is an affront to democracy. We simply wish to make certain we’ve got a system in place,” Wrigley mentioned.