Alaska Removes Thousands of Citizens from Voter Rolls Due to DMV Data Error Ahead of Midterms

Alaska has removed 3,048 people from its active voter list, erroneously flagging many U.S. citizens as noncitizens due to outdated data from the Division of Motor Vehicles. The state's election director, Carol Beecher, acknowledged the mistake but defended the process as necessary to ensure only citizens vote. Affected individuals, including naturalized citizens like Chris Waigl, report being listed as 'inactive—non citizen' and required to provide documentation to correct their status, despite officials claiming no paperwork is needed. Some have been unable to reach the elections office by phone or mail. The removals come less than a month before Alaska's primary election on August 18 and ahead of the November general election. The article also notes that a federal voter database run by the Department of Homeland Security, which Alaska has cooperated with, was recently struck down by a U.S. District Judge for being 'inaccurate' and violating privacy rights. The situation raises concerns that thousands of eligible citizens may be disenfranchised in the upcoming midterms.