Maryland's voter rolls are coming under House Republican scrutiny after it was found out that an illegal immigrant serving as a superintendent of a massive school system in Iowa was fraudulently registered to vote in Maryland, Fox News Digital reported.
House Committee on House Administration Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wisc., and Vice Chair Laurel Lee, R-Fla., sent a letter to Maryland State Board of Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis on 4 December demanding answers regarding Ian Andre Roberts' registration to vote in the state despite not holding U.S. citizenship.
The House Administration Committee oversees House operations and oversight and also is charged with considering proposals to amend federal election law.
Roberts' voter registration documents have faced intense scrutiny from conservatives, including when a Maryland county board of elections released redacted versions of the files in November that blacked out how Roberts answered the citizenship question.
"The Committee is concerned about the integrity and accuracy of Maryland’s citizenship verification processes, and therefore the state’s voter rolls. To assist the Committee’s oversight of this matter, please provide the following information as soon as possible," the letter read, hitting the election chief with 10 questions related to the state's voter role vetting process and the prevalence of illegal immigrants on voter rolls.
The committee is pressing for details, asking: "Is Roberts still a registered voter in Maryland?;" "Has Mr. Roberts ever voted in Maryland? If yes, what election(s) did he participate in?;" "Was Mr. Roberts ever mailed an absentee ballot? If yes, for which election(s)?" and "How does the State Board of Elections fulfill their obligations under 52 U.S.C. §20507 to conduct a general program to remove ineligible voters from the rolls?"
Maryland is a Democratic state, with the party controlling the offices of governor, secretary of state, attorney general and both chambers of the state legislature.
Roberts worked in Baltimore City Schools between August 2001 and June 2010, including serving as a teacher, resident principal and principal at various points across his career in Maryland, local media previously reported.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials arrested Roberts, who originally is from Guyana, in September. Roberts was working as the superintendent of the Des Moines, Iowa, public school system at the time of his arrest, which sparked widespread interest and concern that an illegal immigrant was in such a high-profile position despite his employment authorization card expiring in 2020.
The arrest opened the floodgates to investigations into Roberts' past, including uncovering a lengthy criminal history in the U.S. that stretches back to 1996, when he was charged with criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell in New York.