Should you have to prove citizenship to get a Washington driver’s license?

Article author: 
Rachel La Corte
Article publisher: 
Associated Press
Article date: 
Friday, September 30, 2016
Article category: 
National Issues
Medium
Article Body: 

OLYMPIA – Legislation requiring Washington state residents to prove U.S. citizenship or legal residency to get state driver’s licenses so elections officials can ensure non-citizens are not trying to register to vote was proposed Friday by Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman.

The issue has come up in previous legislative sessions, but lawmakers have been unsuccessful in passing legislation.

On Friday, Wyman pointed to questions that have been raised about the citizenship of Arcan Cetin, who is charged with five counts of premeditated murder following the shooting deaths of five people at Cascade Mall in Burlington last week. Wyman said Cetin, who registered to vote in 2014, voted in three elections.

Washington is the only state in the country that does not require proof of legal presence in the U.S. to get a standard state driver’s license or ID...

Washington state is currently not in compliance with a 2005 federal law – known as REAL ID – that requires state driver’s licenses and ID cards to have security enhancements and be issued to people who can prove they are legally in the United States....

Currently there’s not a bill, but spokesman David Ammons said that Wyman hopes that key lawmakers who have long worked on this issue will have something to introduce when the Legislature convenes in January.

Wyman, joined by county election leaders, announced the proposal in Spokane. The package would also allow for automatic voter registration for people who present citizen verification when they get their licenses, as is done in Oregon. Voters in Washington would be able to opt out of automatic registration under the proposal. Wyman called her proposal “long overdue.”..