NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — We are hearing from more voters who got one of more than 14,000 letters from the Secretary of State's office, asking them to send in proof of their U.S. citizenship based on their voter registration.
The Secretary of State's office says it's a way to ensure the state's voter rolls are clean, but others are calling it a voter intimidation tactic.
Alba Garcia got her letter dated a couple weeks ago.
"I thought my identity was stolen for some reason because I've had a driver's license since I first moved to the state, and I've never had any issues with it," Alba said.
Alba says she became a U.S. citizen 10 years ago and immediately registered to vote.
The letter stops short of saying recipients must submit proof of their citizenship, but says they can.
The Secretary of State's office says it compared Tennessee's voter roles with data from the state Department of Safety and Homeland Security — the department that issues driver's licenses.
Democratic lawmakers and other groups have come out against what they call a voter intimidation effort.
Alba says she will not be sending in the citizenship proof she says she's already provided, and hopes her vote this year will count.
"Why send these letters to lawful citizens, because I did all my paperwork and did everything to become a citizen, so why are we being targeted?" Alba said.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
