LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A screenshot of an apparent text exchange involving someone identified as being with the Michigan Department of State (MDOS) is raising new questions about how the state’s voter registration system handles noncitizens.

In the exchange, reported by Patrick Byrne, former CEO of Overstock.com, one person says they want to preserve “proof” that the department is registering noncitizens to vote.

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The purported MDOS employee offers an explanation: “I honestly think it is a CARS programming error,” the person writes, referring to the state’s Customer and Automotive Records System.

According to the message coming from the MDOS employee, an address change generates a voter-registration document. It also says county clerks should catch noncitizens before they are registered – but recent reporting raises questions about whether that actually happens.

Michigan News Source has not independently verified the authenticity of the exchange or the identity of the person labeled “MDOS” but we have recently reported that Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf received allegations from a confidential informant that Michigan’s CARS system was automatically registering noncitizens after address changes. Leaf said clerks could not identify them because the Qualified Voter File does not designate citizenship status. The allegations have been referred to the U.S. Department of Justice for review.

If authentic, the new messages posted by Byrne raise important questions for state officials: Why would Michigan’s system generate voter-registration paperwork for a known noncitizen in the first place?

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And are whistleblowers starting to come forward now after Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon warned election officials they could face criminal prosecution if they knowingly allow noncitizens to remain on voter rolls or cast ballots?