GREENVILLE — A state lawmaker is calling for a hearing with South Carolina’s Medicaid director following allegations the agency sent voter registration materials to a non-U.S. citizen — but the state Election Commission said it has no evidence that people were fraudulently being registered to vote.
Rep. Jordan Pace, R-Goose Creek, a member of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, sent a letter requesting an investigation to the chairs of the House Legislative Oversight Committee and House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal affairs April 30.
“Upon discovery that Health and Human Services has been distributing voter registration forms to non-citizen migrants, I request an emergency hearing with the Director of Health and Human Services to clarify details and answer why these forms are being given to non-citizens,” he wrote.
South Carolina Rep. Jordan Pace, R-Goose Creek, speaks to a colleague during the budget debate in the House on March 12, 2024, in Columbia. Pace sent a letter to House leaders Tuesday calling for a hearing with the S.C. Medicaid office.
Pace’s call for an investigation came shortly after Greenville state Rep. Adam Morgan, a Republican candidate for the 4th District congressional seat, posted on social media that South Carolina’s Medicaid office gave forms to a refugee in Spartanburg County with information on registering to vote — posts that quickly went viral.
The agency said it is investigating the incident and only sends information to legal residents as required by federal law.
In a series of posts April 29 on X, formerly known as Twitter, Morgan initially said the unnamed person received a voter registration form in a packet from the Social Security office in Spartanburg. Despite mailing the forms back, they later received more voter registration forms in the mail, he said.
“None of this is by accident,” Morgan wrote.
🚨Is the Federal Gov giving voter registration forms to non-citizens?
— Adam Morgan (@RepAdamMorgan) April 29, 2024
Yes, at least in SC. A refugee sent us this form that was given to her in a packet at the Social Security Office in Spartanburg. She asked “Why are they giving these to non-citizens?”
EXACTLY. pic.twitter.com/5IDYhlIzrv
The posts quickly garnered attention with 433 responses, 5,000 likes and nearly 4,000 shares by noon April 30.
Morgan later updated the thread to clarify the forms came from the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services office and that he had been in touch with those involved.
In a letter shared to X Wednesday, Gov. Henry McMaster requested that Chief Mark Keel of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division meet with Morgan to authenticate the claims.
“The integrity of our elections is and must remain a top priority,” McMaster said in his post.
Lawmakers plan to file a proviso on the budget to prohibit any state funds from going to agencies that distribute voter registration forms to noncitizens, Morgan told The Post and Courier.
“We just want to make sure our government agencies aren’t sending those (forms) to noncitizens,” he said.
As the state’s Medicaid administrator, the agency is required by federal law to offer voter registration information under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
DHHS isn’t tasked with processing or submitting voter registration forms for Medicaid applicants or members. Voter registration applications have to be submitted to the South Carolina Election Commission and are processed there.
The election commission released a statement April 30 saying it had not received any specific information that non-U.S. citizens were fraudulently being registered to vote and that the agency was “actively auditing” voter data through a Department of Homeland Security database.
Rep. Adam Morgan, chairman of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus, speaks on Feb. 28, 2023 at the Statehouse. Morgan claims the SC DHHS sent voter registration materials to non-U.S. citizens.
“The SEC will not allow fraudulent voter registration to happen on our watch,” Executive Director Howie Knapp said in the statement. “Should we receive or discover information that non-U.S. citizens are being registered to vote in our state, we will immediately report to our law enforcement partners for investigation and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”
Jeff Leieritz, DHHS director of strategic communications, told The Post and Courier the state Medicaid agency doesn’t believe it should have a role in voter registration at all.
“However, this federal requirement has been in place for more than 30 years and absent the legal authority to make this change, SCDHHS remains required to provide voter registration information to Medicaid applicants and members,” Leieritz wrote in an email.
Leieritz said the agency is aware of Morgan’s posts on social media and is investigating the incident. But Morgan has not been in contact with SCDHHS Director Robert Kerr, he said.
Anyone who believes voter registration information was inappropriately distributed by SCDHHS can contact the agency’s fraud department at www.scdhhs.gov/fraud.
Morgan said the state Legislature is set to pass a bill prohibiting noncitizens from voting in state elections, even though state law already requires a person to be a U.S. citizen in order to vote.
