Steven Cole

Requiring proof of citizenship in a random audit unnecessarily casts suspicion on eligible voters at a time when there is little or no evidence of voter fraud. Moreover, while the bill provides that the state would use all available data bases to confirm citizenship, I suspect that in many cases voters could be asked to provide proof when “available data bases” are inconclusive. For the many natural born eligible voters without a passport, proving citizenship will likely require an original birth certificate. Many will not have one and the process for acquiring one could be burdensome and time consuming. I am also concerned that despite the requirement that audits be ”random,” there is a significant potential for abuse and selecting audit targets by profiling voters, just like is being done with ICE immigration enforcement now. I oppose HB 1062.