Secretary of State rolls out precinct-level canvas spreadsheet; limited SAVE sampling finds a small number of noncitizen matches

The Secretary of State’s office walked the committee through a new precinct-level canvas spreadsheet designed to provide more granular and transparent post‑election reporting. The Excel workbook includes county-level tabs rolled up to a statewide summary and captures precinct counts for registered voters, election‑day registrations, ballots issued (including voids and replacements), ballots accepted, provisional ballots (and reasons), UOCAVA ballots and test‑deck counts used in tabulator certification.

Stuart Fuller (SOS) said the format follows SB 440 requirements and was refined in consultation with county election administrators after municipal test runs. The SOS will train counties on the new reporting spreadsheet; counties must publish their county canvas spreadsheet on their websites before the state canvas.

Austin James, elections director, described a limited SAVE (Department of Homeland Security) sample check the office ran on existing registration records. The SOS asked federal immigration authorities to run manual checks on flagged cases; a small number of records led to confirmations that prompted targeted follow‑up letters to affected registrants. Several registrants contacted counties and acknowledged they were not citizens and were removed. James emphasized the sample process is manual, cautious and protective of voter privacy, and that counties handle any removals under existing statutory processes.

The committee discussed public concerns about a recent postcard and campaign‑style mailers sent to some voters; staff said funding sources for the postcard and outreach were reviewed by Legislative Audit and that the SOS has provided material to those oversight bodies. After debate, the committee voted to direct staff to draft a subpoena seeking the headers (column names) for the data file the state provided to federal partners; members said that request would let the committee confirm what types of fields (for example: name, birth year, SSN last four, driver’s license number, mailing address) were included without asking for individual private data in committee review.

The SOS emphasized it is maintaining a daily/weekly rapid-update practice with death and move files where possible and continues to refine UOCAVA processing so ballots are issued only after registration checks are complete. Fuller and James said counties reported positive feedback from recent statewide elections training and that hand‑count counties worked with EAC on national hand‑count guidance.

The committee agreed to follow up on several implementation and legal questions, directed staff to draft the subpoena language and asked for a written follow‑up on what outreach funding (postcard, billboard) was used and whether the SOS would provide headers requested before or along with the draft subpoena.