In October 2022, the Colorado Secretary of State’s office acknowledged to the media that it mailed more than 31,000 voter registration instruction cards to foreign nationals living in the state.
The registration information was sent out in the months leading up to the 2022 midterm elections.
In a Jan. 5, 2023, press release, the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), said, “The Secretary of State’s office blamed a ‘data analytical error’ for the non-citizens in 58 counties receiving voter registration materials.”
PILF, a national election integrity watchdog group, is investigating who was responsible for the mailing and how state election roll maintenance is conducted in Colorado.
Colorado’s contractual relationship with the Election Registration Information Center (ERIC), a non-profit organization offering voter roll maintenance services to 32 states, needs to be examined, according to investigators.
In the press release, PILF alleged, “ERIC played a significant role in this error.”
Under the terms of the contract, ERIC requires the secretary of state to periodically mail out voter registration information to all eligible but non-registered individuals.
In return for a one-time membership fee of $25,000 and yearly dues, ERIC is obliged to provide the secretary of state’s office with data flagging deceased persons or people who have moved out of state or moved within the state but remain on the voter roll.
Per contract, at least every 60 days, Colorado provides ERIC with the state’s driver and motor vehicle licensing records.
From this information, along with the Social Security death registry and other sources, ERIC compiles a report and sends it to the secretary of state.
At the time the Colorado mistake came to light, officials of the secretary of state’s office said the list of the 31,000 recipients was created by comparing the statewide voter roll and the list of the state’s licensed drivers.
In the Jan. 5 report PILF said, “That very comparison is a core ingredient in membership in ERIC.
“It is intended to find eligible citizens who are not registered to vote and to encourage them to register to vote.”
PILF’s study found that 28,073 foreign nationals in Colorado’s nine most populous counties were mailed voter registration information, led by Arapahoe, Denver, and Adams counties.
By Steven Kovac