September 29, 2016

The Hon. Thomas Hicks

Commissioner
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
1335 East West Highway, Suite 4300
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Re: Evidence of noncitizen voting and the need to better secure our
Dear Chairman Hicks:
Two days ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the necessity to confirm U.S.
citizenship as a part of voter registration was a question to be determined by your Commission. This
judgment was the outcome of an extraordinary lawsuit in which the U.S. Department of Justice fought
against your Commission and the States of Kansas, Georgia, and Alabama and their petitions to require
proof of citizenship from those seeking voter registrations.
The Court questioned the necessity of the requirement, citing a lack of evidence that the problem of
noncitizen voting exists, but its hard to find evidence of non-citizenship when states have no means to
confirm the self-attestations of citizenship provided by registrants.
Therefore, we write today to draw the Commissions attention to recent findings that demonstrate why it
is, in fact, necessary to address the very real existence of noncitizen voting. It is happening, even in the
most public of cases.
Arcan Cetin, the Turkish citizen responsible for the recent murders of five Americans at the Cascade Mall
in Burlington, Washington, registered to vote on September 27, 2014 and hasnt missed an election since.
Mr. Cetin proceeded to cast and be credited for his illegal votes in the 2014 General, 2015 General, and
2016 Primary. At the time of this letter, Mr. Cetins registration is still listed as Active on the Washington
Secretary of States voter file.

Screen-capped images from the Washington Secretary of State live voter file.

True the Vote | PO Box 131768 | Houston, Texas 77219-1768

Screen-capped images from the Washington Secretary of State live voter file.
As a voters rights organization, it is True the Votes practice to research the voting habits of individuals
like Mr. Cetin, who is both a noncitizen and a registered voter. We uncovered Mr. Cetins apparent illegal
voter registration and active voting history after learning of his noncitizen status in statements offered by
Mount Vernon Police Department Lt. Chris Cammock.1 As you know, 18 U.S.C. 611 prohibits any
alien from participating in federal elections, while the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires
individuals to affirm their U.S. citizenship. Additionally, the Washington State voter registration form
expressly notes that those unable to affirm citizenship shall not complete this form.
Non-citizens should not vote. States should be able to prevent non-citizens from voting. However, the
Department of Justice consistently attacks states that seek to maintain the integrity of their voter files;
from litigating to prevent Kansas, Alabama, and Georgias asking for citizenship verification, to litigating
against Colorado and Florida for taking action to prevent noncitizens from remaining on their voter rolls.
The fruits of Department of Justice labors are now evident in the case of Mr. Arcan.

The Seattle Times; Suspect in mall shooting was socially awkward and troubled in high school, friends
say (9/24/2016), http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/teen-cancer-survivor-among-mallshooting-victims-search-for-gunman-continues/
1

True the Vote | PO Box 131768 | Houston, Texas 77219-1768

True the Vote exists to promote election integrity and defend voters rights. Weve written to the
Department of Justice on numerous occasions, asking for their help in investigating matters related to
noncitizen voting based on registrations discovered through our research efforts, beginning as far back as
2010. To date, the Department of Justice has not responded to any of our requests.
Because citizenship resolution is not part of voter registration; because states have been prevented from
accessing necessary government data sources to make independent confirmations; and because the
Department of Justice prosecutes states that even attempt to reconcile their own records, True the Votes
research often stands alone, because of our willingness to engage in the granular records review that is the
only current means by which to expose the truth of what is happening to the integrity of American
elections. As you are now charged with the responsibility of oversight in these matters, we hope you will
move quickly to resolve the problem of noncitizen voting in favor of legally registered voters.
Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Catherine Engelbrecht
Founder
True the Vote

True the Vote | PO Box 131768 | Houston, Texas 77219-1768