Utah House OKs bill to make sure voters are U.S. citizens, though study uncovers few issues

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House on Monday approved a bill meant to ensure that those registering to vote are U.S. citizens amid the release of preliminary results of a review of the state's voter registration list that show that more than 99.9% are, in fact, citizens.

"This bill is about fairness. It's about due process and it's about respect for our laws, for our elections, our U.S. and Utah Constitutions and for those who work hard to earn the privilege of citizenship," said Rep. Cory Maloy, R-Lehi, sponsor of the bill, HB209. "It's been discussed that there's only been a few noncitizens that have voted in our elections. That's a few too many."

Utah Rep. Sahara Hayes, D-Salt Lake City, voted against the measure, noting the data released Friday by Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson that shows minimal issues with noncitizens voting. She also cited the cost of implementing the measure — $100,000 by the state and $32,000 a year to local governments — amid pressure this year to cut state spending.

"I think it's important that we only have people who should be voting in elections voting in elections. But as the recent audit pointed out, this isn't really an issue that needs solving," Hayes said. "Here in Utah, we had only one noncitizen on our voter rolls and they did not vote."

House lawmakers approved the bill 62-13 on Monday and it now goes to the Utah Senate for consideration.

State election officials, who operate under the umbrella of the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office, launched a review last August of the state's entire voter roll, containing more than 2 million names. Last Friday, Henderson released preliminary results of the effort, which indicate a few issues.

"We found one confirmed noncitizen who never voted and has since been removed by the appropriate county clerk," she said in the report. Beyond that, officials are reviewing the status of 486 additional "active voters," and results so far show that more than 99.9% of Utah voters are "verifiably U.S. citizens."

Whatever the case, HB209 comes as the immigrant population in the United States comes under increasing scrutiny, underscored by the crackdown on immigrants illegally in the country pursued by the administration of President Donald Trump. Indeed, U.S. lawmakers are considering their own measure meant to make sure those registering to vote are U.S. citizens, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE Act, championed by U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

"The main purpose of the bill, really, is to make sure that we do everything we can to ensure that U.S. citizens are voting in Utah elections," Maloy said during the committee hearing on HB209 last Wednesday. If there is a question about a would-be voter's citizenship status, the individual can provide the required information and, if voting is already underway, cast a provisional ballot while the issue is sorted out.

Cambria Cantrell, elections coordinator for the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office, which oversees Utah elections, said HB209 "strikes a fair balance" between requiring voters to verify their citizenship status without placing undue burdens on them. "There's no perfect way to verify citizenship for everyone, that is why it's important that this bill allows for a variety of methods for both the (county) clerks and the voters to prove their citizenship," she said.

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Brian McKenzie, who helps oversee elections in Davis County as the Davis County clerk, echoed that. The measure would require county clerks like himself to verify the citizenship status of would-be voters, he said, but driver's license records, used 97%-98% of the time by voters as proof of their identification, can easily answer the question.

Those getting Utah driver's licenses have to provide proof of citizenship status to get them, so if those registering to vote use their licenses, "you're good to go," McKenzie said. Furthermore, he said, the legislation allows for the use of other forms of identification to prove U.S. citizenship, including birth certificates, passports, U.S. naturalization documents, and more.

The measure, however, drew opposition from some, including the Utah League of Women Voters, which regularly conducts voter-registration drives. Helen Moser, director of voter services for the league, said Monday that the bill, if passed, could require more documentation of would-be voters registering to vote.

Moreover, Arizona passed similar legislation, she said, and the result has been problematic. "The result there has not been clarity or confidence but confusion, errors, litigation, inconsistencies between counties," she said.

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