Alaska has sent more than 3,000 letters to voters asking them to verify their U.S. citizenship, a number state election officials acknowledge is unusually high and appears to stem from outdated Department of Motor Vehicles data.

The Division of Elections sent out 3,048 letters, according to spokesperson Steve Kirch. This figure is significantly higher than the typical 200 names that usually require further review during the state's voter roll maintenance. The process compares the voter list with information held by the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher informed state lawmakers this week that "a lot of old data was picked up somehow." She estimated the number of letters sent was around 3,500 during a legislative hearing.

These letters come amid heightened national scrutiny over claims of noncitizen voting, although research and prosecutions indicate such instances are rare. Former President Donald Trump and his allies have frequently raised concerns about noncitizen voting.

The letters ask recipients to affirm their citizenship status via mail, phone, or email, and Beecher stated that no additional paperwork or documentation is required. Those who receive the letters are moved to an "inactive" voter list. If a recipient does not respond, they can still cast a provisional ballot that requires them to attest to their eligibility to vote.

"It is not disenfranchising the individual from being able to vote, but it's a measure the division has to take to make sure that we only have citizens voting," Beecher said. Voters who respond to confirm their citizenship will be moved back to the active list, Kirch added.

State Rep. Andrew Gray, a Democrat, reported that his office had only heard from constituents who are U.S. citizens regarding these letters. Another Democrat, state Rep. Ashley Carrick, inquired if the letters were connected to Alaska's decision late last year to share detailed voter data with the U.S. Department of Justice. Beecher stated the letters were unrelated and solely based on information from the DMV.

In March, the Division of Elections submitted a request to the DMV for citizenship information on approximately 15,200 license and identification applicants, a request the DMV described as "nonroutine." The DMV later clarified that the data provided "included only those records where DMV's latest confirmed status for an individual was other than 'Citizen.'"

Officials remain uncertain why the latest data comparison yielded such a large number of voters with questioned citizenship status. Beecher suggested that individuals might have applied for a driver's license before becoming U.S. citizens, and this change in status may not have been reflected in DMV records. Kirch offered an example where someone who was not a citizen when they obtained their driver's license but later became a citizen and registered to vote might still appear as a noncitizen in DMV data. He advised individuals to update their information with the DMV to prevent future flagging.

Alaska was among at least 16 states that agreed to provide voter data to the Trump administration for a Department of Homeland Security program designed to check for citizenship, a program that has drawn criticism for potentially flagging eligible voters. Voting and civil rights groups in Alaska filed a lawsuit earlier this year challenging the state's sharing of this information, which is still pending.