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Secretary Of State: 4,000 On Michigan Voter Rolls May Be Illegal

LANSING (WWJ) - Michigan's Secretary of State believes there may be thousands of registered voters who can not legally vote.

Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson announced Tuesday that there may be as many as 4,000 registered voters who are not U.S. citizens according to new data.

Michigan Department of State staff verified that almost 1,000 people who are noncitizens are registered to vote, despite only having access to about 19 percent of complete citizenship data.

The new data comes on the heels of some push-back by area election officials in Michigan who are refusing Johnson's call for them to put a question regarding U.S. citizenship on ballot applications.

The Michigan state legislature earlier this summer passed a bill to put the question on the ballot applications but Governor Rick Snyder vetoed it.

Johnson said she has asked federal officials for help identifying non-U.S. citizens on the state's voter rolls but they have not come forward.

Noncitizens who inadvertently registered to vote because a government form was put in front of them who vote, can face felony criminal charges or even deportation, no matter how long they have worked toward becoming U.S. citizens, noted the Secretary of State's office.

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