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A new bill proposes using a federal Homeland Security (DHS) program to verify the citizenship status of Nebraska voters, with supporters arguing it would filter out non-citizens from voting, and opponents testifying that Nebraska already has secure elections.The DHS program, titled the “Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program,” is a part of LB884. The program helps verify immigration status for many federal departments, and with recent improvements made, state Sen. Bob Andersen says it can take in massive amounts of data, instead of individual cases.”SAVE does not remove people from the voter rolls. Rather, it is a triage tool used to verify a voter’s citizenship. This is a quick and smart way to confirm, as per law, only United States citizens are voting in our elections,” Andersen said.Critics say the bill overreaches and raises concerns about Nebraskans’ data privacy. Civic Nebraska testified in opposition during Wednesday’s hearing. “Most of this data is primarily kept in the states. But now it is being shared with the federal government. And that can be very chilling in ways,” Kieran Kissler, director of public policy for Civic Nebraska, said to KETV. Civic Nebraska also worries the bill could impact rightful citizens, flagging individuals who have changed their name or immigration status since registering to vote. “For example, if the last time you’ve registered to vote, if you’ve been married since then, if you change your name for any reason, if you’ve adjusted your immigration status, you would be flagged,” Kissler said.The secretary of state’s office assured that anyone flagged would still have the right to fill out a provisional ballot when asked in today’s hearing”Investigation outside of the secretary of state’s office would have to occur and be adjudicated before we would remove someone from the rolls,” Wayne Bena, Nebraska’s deputy secretary of state, said.Additionally, LB 884 proposes changes to policies on watching ballot counting, allowing watchers to see early vote counts and requiring a clear view of all actions if observing on a TV or other device. The bill also codifies the practice of ensuring political party affiliations are not visible on election ballot envelopes and mandates that election workers make no stops while transporting ballots.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google Search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
A new bill proposes using a federal Homeland Security (DHS) program to verify the citizenship status of Nebraska voters, with supporters arguing it would filter out non-citizens from voting, and opponents testifying that Nebraska already has secure elections.
The DHS program, titled the “Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program,” is a part of LB884. The program helps verify immigration status for many federal departments, and with recent improvements made, state Sen. Bob Andersen says it can take in massive amounts of data, instead of individual cases.
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“SAVE does not remove people from the voter rolls. Rather, it is a triage tool used to verify a voter’s citizenship. This is a quick and smart way to confirm, as per law, only United States citizens are voting in our elections,” Andersen said.
Critics say the bill overreaches and raises concerns about Nebraskans’ data privacy. Civic Nebraska testified in opposition during Wednesday’s hearing.
“Most of this data is primarily kept in the states. But now it is being shared with the federal government. And that can be very chilling in ways,” Kieran Kissler, director of public policy for Civic Nebraska, said to KETV.
Civic Nebraska also worries the bill could impact rightful citizens, flagging individuals who have changed their name or immigration status since registering to vote.
“For example, if the last time you’ve registered to vote, if you’ve been married since then, if you change your name for any reason, if you’ve adjusted your immigration status, you would be flagged,” Kissler said.
The secretary of state’s office assured that anyone flagged would still have the right to fill out a provisional ballot when asked in today’s hearing
“Investigation outside of the secretary of state’s office would have to occur and be adjudicated before we would remove someone from the rolls,” Wayne Bena, Nebraska’s deputy secretary of state, said.
Additionally, LB 884 proposes changes to policies on watching ballot counting, allowing watchers to see early vote counts and requiring a clear view of all actions if observing on a TV or other device. The bill also codifies the practice of ensuring political party affiliations are not visible on election ballot envelopes and mandates that election workers make no stops while transporting ballots.
Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google Search.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
