Many suspected ineligible voters are US citizens

DENVER – Colorado officials say nearly 90 percent of people in the state suspected of being ineligible voters are actually U.S. citizens.

The disclosure came Wednesday at a hearing involving a move by Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler to clear the voting rolls of unqualified people.

Gessler says he still wants his office to hold hearings challenging the status of those whose citizenship is still in doubt.

Gessler previously sent letters to nearly 4,000 people questioning their citizenship.

However, election officials say 88 percent of 1,400 of those people proved to be U.S. citizens when compared to a federal database.