BARRY COUNTY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf says a confidential informant working inside the Michigan Secretary of State’s office came forward recently with evidence alleging the state’s computer system is automatically registering noncitizens to vote when they update their addresses.

Leaf made the allegations in a video statement, saying the informant reported that “noncitizens are automatically registered to vote when they change their address.”

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Leaf added, “The confidential informant provided evidence that the customer and automotive records system is programmed to congratulate and inform noncitizens that they are registered to vote.”

The allegation has not been independently verified, but Leaf says his office has turned the matter over to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

The CARS connection.

According to Leaf, the informant provided evidence involving the Secretary of State’s Customer and Automotive Records System (CARS).

CARS is the Michigan Secretary of State’s computer system used to manage driver and vehicle records. It handles information tied to driver’s licenses and state IDs, vehicle titles and registrations, and customer address changes. Because Secretary of State transactions can also involve voter- registration opportunities under state and federal law, information processed through CARS interacts with Michigan’s voter-registration procedures.

Leaf: County clerks can’t see citizenship status.

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It is that connection between CARS transactions and voter registration that appears to be at the center of the informant’s allegations. Leaf said the informant brought proof to a supervisor and was allegedly told county clerks would identify the noncitizens. According to the sheriff, there’s just one problem. “Unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, this is not true,” Leaf said, explaining that county clerks receive access to the Qualified Voter File (QVF) only after a person has been registered. He added that the voter file “does not designate a citizenship status.”

In other words, Leaf alleges the supposed backstop isn’t much of a backstop if the information needed to catch the problem isn’t there.

Benson battles Trump DOJ over Michigan voter rolls.

Meanwhile, Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is running to be Michigan’s next governor, has been fighting the Trump administration’s demand for Michigan voter data. Her office has resisted turning over the state’s full voter file to DOJ, arguing the federal government is seeking protected personal information and lacks authority for parts of its request. The DOJ says the information is needed to ensure Michigan is complying with federal voter-list-maintenance laws – including requirements that only eligible voters remain on the rolls.

DOJ: we’ll look into it.

The DOJ has already warned election officials nationwide about noncitizen voting. In July, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon sent letters to all 50 states warning that election officials who knowingly retain noncitizens on voter rolls or facilitate their voting could potentially face criminal liability.

Asked specifically on Newsmax about the Michigan whistleblower allegations brought to light by Sheriff Dar Leaf, Dhillon said, “If that’s true, that is definitely out of whack with our federal election statutes, and I will certainly be looking into that.”

Dhillon added that the DOJ has opened “numerous investigations around the country” involving election-related reports and said those investigations “will not stop.”