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Elections Officers Investgate Report Illegal Aliens Voted
The Elections Division of the Lieutenant Governor's Office is looking into the report during last winter's legislative session that at least 14 illegal immigrants may have voted in an election.


(Aug 8, 2005) --

SALT LAKE CITY (KSL News Services) -- The Elections Division of the Lieutenant Governor's Office is looking into the report during last winter's legislative session that at least 14 illegal immigrants may have voted in an election.

The issue was raised during discussion of legislation on drivers' licenses for undocumented workers.

Legislative Auditor General John Schaff said more than 58,000 illegal immigrants had Utah drivers' licenses, nearly 400 of them used their license to register to vote in Utah, and a sampling of that group revealed at least 14 actually voted in an election.

As a result, the Legislature enacted a measure that provides undocumented workers may not get a regular driver's license but may get a driving privilege card that is not a valid form of identification.

Elections director Michael Cragun said he wants information on the possible illegal voters so county clerks can look at it and take appropriate action.

"If we find we've got someone who is not a citizen who has registered ... someone at the polling place can challenge their right to cast a ballot," he said. "As far as someone proven to be a noncitizen who did cast a ballot, that would be referred to the county attorney for prosecution."

Schaff said he has received the Election Division's request for records but may only be able to release them to the attorney general's office.

Assistant Attorney General Thom Roberts said his office might try to obtain the information if the lieutenant governor can't.

While lawmakers originally said they'd seek a more in-depth audit, Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, who sponsored the legislation, has since said the audit served its purpose by identifying a problem and the legislation was designed to solve it. Bramble has said any follow-up should by handled by state investigative agencies.

A Department of Public Safety investigation, a joint effort with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. postal inspectors, has since been closed, according to Sgt. Dale Neal of Highway Patrol Investigation.

Neal said two suspects are being sought for federal mail and being in the country illegally. They allegedly charged people $800 to help them get a driver's license in Utah.

Activists on both sides of the immigration debate said they have tried unsuccessfully to gain access to the voter registration information mentioned in the auditor's survey.

Frank Cordova, director of Utah Coalition of La Raza, said the survey was inconclusive but "has implicated the entire Latino community. They've made us all look suspicious and legally ineligible voters. That isn't true."

Cordova said he and others have worked for several years to register voters and have worked closely with Salt Lake County elections officials. It has always been made clear that only citizens can vote, he said.

Cordova said he wants to know "how many people registered, where they registered and if there is some fraud going on. Right now there's no answer to any of those."

Russell Sias, vice chairman of Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement, has also been trying to access the information. Sias believes there are more undocumented individuals voting than the audit suggests, and he would like to see a full audit of the state's voter rolls.