Congress to Move Legislation Which Severely Threatens Voting Rights

Congress appears poised to use allegations of voter fraud to support massive changes in voter registration procedures as part of the campaign reform debate. Consideration of H.R. 1428, sponsored by Representative Steve Horn (R-CA), is likely to occur in the near future.

H.R. 1428 would establish a federal program for election officials to "confirm" the citizenship of registered voters and voter registration applicants. The proposal would allow election officials to submit the names of voter registration applicants and registered voters to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) for citizenship confirmation through a computerized system. Although subject to state law, if the submitted voter's name is not confirmed through this program, the election official could either reject the application or drop the voter from the rolls. H.R. 1428 would also amend the Social Security Act to overturn privacy act protections, allowing all states to require Social Security numbers for voter registration.

The data on which the system would be based is highly inaccurate. The Social Security Administration can confirm Social Security numbers, but it cannot confirm citizenship. SSA's citizenship data is self-reported, and no citizenship information was even requested of applicants for Social Security cards before 1978. The INS also has significant data problems; not only are there accuracy problems with information currently kept on INS computers, but thousands of U.S. citizens were naturalized before the agency began keeping computer records at all. These Americans are among those most likely to have their voting rights undermined by the use of such a system.

This proposal threatens to dramatically undermine voting rights, particularly among Latinos and Asian Pacific Americans. This legislation invites extra scrutiny of registered voters or people seeking to register, many of whom will be singled out and questioned simply on the basis of their ethnic surnames or appearance. Election officials implementing these provisions may decide that only "ethnic-looking" names or applicants must be run through the computer system, while "American-looking" voters are not questioned. Legitimate voters are likely to have their ability to vote undermined because of verification problems or excessive scrutiny at the time of registration. In addition, legitimate voters may lose their access to the polls simply because the system makes mistakes. These activities will have a significant chilling effect on voting by Latino or Asian Americans who are more likely to face discrimination or extra scrutiny as they register to vote.

This legislation is unnecessary. Under current federal and state laws, both voter registration fraud and voter fraud are crimes. There is no credible evidence to support the notion that massive citizenship verification procedures are warranted; indeed, a House Oversight Committee hearing in 1995 revealed that the single biggest problem with respect to voter fraud had to do with abuses of state absentee ballot laws. Though the House Oversight Committee which investigated the contested election in California's 46th District alleges that as many as 7,841 votes are "suspect," there continue to be extensive questions about the accuracy and validity of the data on which this allegation is made. (See attached materials.)

The cost and administrative burden of this legislation would be excessive. It is unreasonable to assume that the government has the capacity or the resources to conduct a massive computer match of all people seeking to vote in the United States. In complying with the year-long investigation of the election in California's 46th District, the INS reportedly spent $1 million, while the Committee spent an additional several hundred thousand dollars. Moreover, the Social Security Administration has testified that the cost and administrative burden for its role in implementing such a policy would be excessive.

This legislation would significantly undermine the "Motor Voter" or National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). After years of declining voter registration, the NVRA has successfully established procedures that encourage voter participation nationwide. In fact, voter registration has increased significantly since the law took effect. H.R. 1428 would establish a major obstacle to voter registration and participation for many -- perhaps most -- citizens by requiring them to present proof of citizenship at the time of registration.

The Horn bill is the "tip of the iceberg." It is part of a concerted effort to cast a cloud of suspicion on a whole group of Americans, reduce Latino and other minority participation in the 1998 and 2000 election cycles, and intimidate newly naturalized Americans from voting. This effort includes Congressional actions to deny funding to the citizenship process to prevent qualified, legal immigrants from becoming U.S. citizens, resulting in large and growing backlogs; proposals to impose new legislative restrictions on the naturalization process; and efforts to prevent an accurate 2000 Census. Taken together, these thinly-veiled efforts are clearly designed to suppress the participation of ethnic minorities in the electoral process.

For more information, contact Carmen Joge, Civil Rights Policy Analyst, or Lillian Hirales, Policy Analyst, at the National Council of La Raza, (202) 785-1670.