Purging illegal aliens from voter rolls not easy

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ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland election officials have been stymied in their efforts to purge illegal aliens from the state's voting rolls.

They have begun compiling a database of the state's 3 million registered voters, then they "hope to compare our data with the INS [Immigration and Naturalization Service]," said Linda H. Lamone, the state's elections administrator.

"If we find people who are improperly voting, then we will report them to the proper authorities, which we have done in the past," Mrs. Lamone said.

But Maryland's plan to identify the illegals on its voter rolls doesn't make much sense to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) -- formerly the INS. Officials there point out that they only keep track of legal immigrants.

Furthermore, the agency said it has to protect the privacy of those aliens.

"From our standpoint, it is important to safeguard the confidentiality of each legal immigrant, especially in light of the federal Privacy Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act," said USCIS spokesman Dan Kane.

Maryland's aims reflect those of other states since the so-called "motor-voter" law in 1993 allowed people to register to vote at the same time they get their driver's license or register their vehicle.

Rep. Henry J. Hyde, Illinois Republican, has introduced a bill that would amend the motor-voter law by requiring voters to provide proof of identification for federal elections. It also would require states to verify that potential voters are citizens before adding their names to voting rolls.

President Clinton signed the motor-voter legislation into law, hailing it for increasing voter participation by simplifying registration. But many states do not verify citizenship when residents apply for licenses, which allows noncitizens to get on voting rolls.

Immigration officials estimate there are between 8 million and 10 million illegal immigrants in the United States -- most of them from Latin America -- and as many as 56,000 in Maryland.