(The Center Square) – A House committee is asking Maryland election officials to explain how a noncitizen registered to vote in the state.
The lawmakers say redactions in his voter records raise concerns about possible gaps in Maryland’s voter verification procedures.
House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil and Elections Subcommittee Chair Laurel Lee sent a letter Thursday to Maryland State Board of Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis. The letter outlines ten questions about the voter registration history of Ian Andre Roberts, a former school superintendent who was arrested in September on a federal charge of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
According to the committee, Maryland records show Roberts successfully registered to vote at least two times despite not having U.S. citizenship. The letter pointed to earlier voter registration documents that were said to be heavily redacted by Prince George’s County, including the portion where applicants affirm their citizenship status.
“Based on this information, the Committee is concerned about the integrity and accuracy of Maryland’s citizenship verification processes, and therefore the state’s voter rolls,” the letter said.
A later release still removed the source of Roberts’ application, the letter said.
Steil and Lee wrote that the two separate redactions raised concerns about how Maryland verifies eligibility during voter registration and what tools the state uses to confirm citizenship. The letter asks how Roberts first registered, whether he remains an active voter, and how Maryland identifies and removes ineligible voters from the rolls.
The committee also asked whether the state uses federal databases like the USCIS SAVE system, a federal verification service that allows government agencies to confirm a person’s immigration status and verify citizenship, and why Prince George’s County initially redacted the origin of Roberts’ voter registration application.
Lawmakers also asked whether the State Board of Elections has conducted a formal review of the case and whether any changes to Maryland’s verification procedures have been proposed.
Steil and Lee requested a response from Maryland election officials by December 18.
Wendy N. Honesty-Bey, election administrator for the Prince George’s County Board of Elections, told The Center Square the office follows all legal and statutory requirements under federal and state election laws as well as the Maryland Code of Regulations.
She said that after a legal review of the MPIA request and consultation with the Maryland State Board of Elections, the county determined the information concerning Roberts “could not be redacted.”
She said the previously withheld information was immediately released once that determination was made.
