The Rhode Island Department of State solicited potential noncitizens to register to vote in order to meet the requirements of the leftist election group Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), according to emails reviewed by The Federalist.
In a 2021 email thread, Rob Rock, the Department of State’s former director of elections (who now serves as deputy secretary and director of administration), said the state sent “eligible but unregistered” (EBU) voter mailers to individuals flagged as noncitizens. The email was sent in response to an inquiry from Kyle Upchurch, program manager at the Zuckbucks-linked Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR).
“We sent two versions of the EBU,” Rock wrote. “One to people who have a ‘Y’ citizenship flag and one to those who have a ‘No’ citizenship flag. Each PDF contains the English and Spanish versions.”
While the mailers said that an individual would have to be a citizen to register to vote, they were sent to citizens and noncitizens alike, targeting those who were flagged as noncitizens. In a statement to The Federalist, Department of State Director of Communications and Public Affairs Faith Chybowski said the purpose is to target those who may be newly naturalized citizens whose citizenship status has changed and therefore would be eligible to vote.
“Our records show that you have not been eligible to vote due to your U.S. citizenship status,” the mailer, provided by the department, reads. “If your status has changed recently, you may now be eligible to vote.”
However, the department
