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Friday, June 27, 1997

Secretary of State seeks lawsuit against U.S. Department of Justice

By JUAN B. ELIZONDO Jr. / Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN (AP) - A federal agency is forcing Texas state employees to offer voter registration to noncitizens and should be stopped, Secretary of State Tony Garza said Thursday.

Garza, the state's top elections official, asked Attorney General Dan Morales to sue the U.S. Department of Justice over its interpretation of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, also known as the Motor Voter Act.

Garza said that interpretation requires state workers to offer voter registration to all people even if the people are not U.S. citizens and are not eligible to vote.

"This situation clearly represents a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing," Garza wrote in a five-page letter to Morales.

"The Department of Justice is essentially making state employees register noncitizens to vote, while at the same time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting a probe on allegations that noncitizens have been illegally voting in Dallas County."

The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the FBI in Dallas are working together on the Dallas investigation, according to an INS spokesman.

Last year's federal immigration law made it a crime for noncitizens to vote or register to vote. Penalties include deportation or up to five years imprisonment.

The voter registration act requires state agencies that regularly deal with the public to offer voter registration to people when they apply for or renew their applications for services.

Paul Hancock, acting deputy U.S. Attorney General for Civil Rights, said Garza has misinterpreted the Justice Department's position.

"The motor voter law does not require that registration forms be made available to noncitizens," Hancock said in a telephone interview. "Noncitizens are not eligible to vote."

Hancock said questions arise in the way state workers determine whether a person is a noncitizen.

Garza said the Justice Department interpretation of the law requires that even if a client's application form for state services indicates the person is not a citizen, state employees must offer to register them to vote.

Hancock said that is not correct, adding that the dispute could be resolved outside the courts.

The secretary of state's call for a lawsuit comes after the Justice Department notified his elections division that it needs more time to review a 1995 state law meant to put some of the federal law into state law and to ensure that state employees do not register noncitizens to vote.

Under federal requirements, that law must be approved by federal officials before taking effect.

Hancock said the federal department has requested more information about the law.

Garza said the state has answered questions, but continues to wait for a response two years later.

"Until we get this straightened out, current law will continue to practically encourage improper voting," Garza said.

A spokesman for Morales said the attorney general would have to review the letter before deciding what to do. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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