Republicans are investigating reports that Michigan could have noncitizens on its voter rolls and in jury pools, the news coming amid efforts to safeguard citizens’ right to vote.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Rep. John James (R-MI) have reportedly asked U.S Attorney General Pam Bondi about whether a specific county in the Detroit area is potentially violating federal law, Fox News reported Tuesday.
In their letter to Bondi, Comer and James said, “Non-citizens have appeared in the state’s jury pool, and in some instances, have been registered to vote. The Committee is requesting a briefing to understand the U.S. Department of Justice’s role in investigating such matters, and the potential for similar issues to be occurring nationwide.”
The letter said the state’s jury pool consists of people who have driver’s licenses and state identification cards which automatically register them to vote unless they choose not to do so.
“In Michigan’s Macomb County, Clerk Anthony Forlini uncovered significant breaches during a cross check of the Michigan Secretary of State’s Qualified Voter File and the county jury pool. Over a four-month period, 239 non-citizens were found to have been included in the jury pool. Of these individuals, 14 were identified as having been registered to vote at one point,” their letter continued.
In 2020, a report from the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) showed nearly 350,000 dead voters still eligible to cast a ballot and a number of double votes from two previous elections, Breitbart News reported at the time.
The following year, PILF filed a lawsuit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, alleging she did not clear over 25,000 possibly deceased people from voter rolls after she was repeatedly warned about the issue.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) sued Benson in December regarding allegations that state election law “intrinsically violates the state’s constitution by allowing non-residents to vote in the state’s elections,” according to Breitbart News.
Per the Fox article, Comer and James argued the Civil Rights Act gives Bondi the authority to take action on the issue and have asked her to review whether similar problems were cropping up in other states.
Meanwhile, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) recently told Breitbart News he is cosponsoring the SAVE America Act from Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
“Ensuring that only American citizens vote in American elections, along with voter ID requirements, isn’t controversial — it’s plain common sense,” Emmer stated.