Republican secretary of state sends vaguely worded letter to voters weeks before primary
Tennessee’s top election official asked more than 14,000 registered voters to prove their citizenship in a vaguely worded letter last month in what voting and immigrant groups say is an attempt to intimidate voters.
The office of the Tennessee secretary of state, Tre Hargett, a Republican, sent the letter to 14,375 voters on 13 June, weeks before early voting was to begin for the state’s August primary. “Our office has received information that appears to indicate that your voter information matches with an individual who may not have been a United States citizen at the time of obtaining a Tennessee license or ID card,” the letter says.
It goes on to remind the recipient that illegal voting is a felony in Tennessee punishable with up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine. It requests that any person who received the letter who is a citizen provide proof, such as a US passport, birth certificate, naturalization papers or other document.
The letter offers no information about what happens if someone does not reply. It also offers no information on how their names were flagged for review. Doug Kufner, a spokesman for Hargett, did not return requests for comment.
There are plenty of states where you can vote without having to show identification at the time of voting. You do have to register prior to voting, though, and that process requires identification and proof of residency. And no, none of this has ever resulted in any significant voting fraud. Between 2000 and 2014 there were only 31 documented cases of voter impersonation in the entire country.
https://ballotpedia.org/Voter_identification_laws_by_state