Automatic voter registration glitch puts system on hold

A glitch in the state’s automatic voter registration system resulted in some non-citizens being incorrectly registered to vote.

Legislation passed last year created a system where Vermonters could be automatically registered to vote when they go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a driver’s license or other form of identification.

Unless applicants opt out, their information is processed through the Secretary of State’s office and sent to municipal clerks. The system came online at the beginning of the year.

However, the system was put on hold last month after the Secretary of State’s office got reports of people being erroneously added to municipality voter rolls.

In the last two weeks, Amy Bovee heard from four people who said they were registered as voters in error. All four said they were not U.S. citizens, and they did not request to be registered to vote, she said.

According to Bovee, in Burlington when a name comes through from the Secretary of State’s office to be registered, the city sends a letter to that individual confirming that they have been added to the voter roll. One person came forward last week to report they were incorrectly registered, and three additional people came forward this week, she said.

Secretary of State Jim Condos confirmed that for 18 days beginning January 3, the DMV was transferring more data to his office than it should have, which included information for some people who are not eligible voters.

“We think it’s a very small number,” Condos said.

Condos emphasized that nobody who was incorrectly registered to vote has cast a ballot.

“No ineligible voter voted,” he said.

Under state law, individuals who are registered to vote because of an error in the system, they will not face penalties. Noncitizens who were registered accidentally are protected by the statute, Condos said.

Mike Smith, director of operations for the DMV, said that the coding error that caused the problem has been identified. As of Jan. 20, the DMV halted the daily transfers of information to the Secretary of State.

The DMV is in the process of trying out a test plan before getting the system up and running again, he said. They will then review the data that was sent to the Secretary of State to identify anybody who was incorrectly registered to vote. The Secretary of State’s office will scrub the voter rolls to ensure they are accurate, according to officials.

“The key is we want to get people off that shouldn’t be on there, and get people on that should be,” Smith said.

People who have questions or concerns can contact the Secretary of State’s office, according to a news release. Officials expect to release further information about the scope of the problem next week.

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