Michigan Sheriff alleges state software automatically registers non-citizens to vote

Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf has raised allegations regarding Michigan’s voter registration process, citing information from a confidential informant within the Michigan Secretary of State’s office. The whistleblower claims that the state’s Customer and Automotive Records System (CARS) may be automatically registering non-citizens to vote when they update their addresses or move.

According to Leaf, the system is programmed to notify individuals that they have been registered to vote following an address change, even if they are ineligible. The Sheriff expressed concern that county clerks may be unable to easily identify or remove these registrations because the Qualified Voter File does not clearly flag citizenship status and clerks only receive the information after the registration has occurred.

Leaf stated that his office has referred the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate potential violations of federal law regarding unlawful voting by non-citizens. He also noted that the same process could potentially place non-citizens into jury pools. The allegations have not been independently verified.