Georgia officials are complaining the federal government is unnecessarily delaying giving them access to an immigration database they could use to confirm the U.S. citizenship of those seeking to vote.
The state has been requesting access to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program for more than a year and a half, public records show.
In a letter sent last week to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp complained about the delay.
“To avoid further unnecessary delay,” Kemp wrote, “I ask that your office promptly put aside any partisan politics that might be at the root of USCIS’ recent actions and grant the state of Georgia access to SAVE so that we can verify the citizenship status of voter registration applicants pursuant to Georgia law.”
State lawmakers passed legislation in 2009, requiring voter registration applicants on Jan. 1, 2010, and thereafter to prove their U.S. citizenship. Senate Bill 86 says applicants may submit their alien registration numbers as proof. Georgia officials say they need access to the SAVE database to check those numbers.
A USCIS spokeswoman said his week she was looking into the matter.
Critics of the state’s plans have said there is no evidence to substantiate voter fraud is widespread in Georgia. The League of Women Voters of Georgia, the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund have all expressed concerns about Georgia’s plans.
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