Driver Licenses Debate Is About Immigration, Voting

States are in charge of granting driver licenses. The U.S. government is adding federal rules to the process under the Real ID Act. Backers of the new rules give two main reasons.

First, they say that the rules would make flying safer by stopping terrorists from getting driver licenses. Airlines use driver licenses to identify passengers.

Second, they say that the rules would stop voting by illegal immigrants. Voters use driver licenses to identify themselves at the polls.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants states to share information on anyone applying for a driver license.

The American Civil Liberties Union opposes this idea. The ACLU says that kind of System could lead to more identity theft.

The ACLU also says the system is the "first-ever national identity card system." It says an ID system will damage American freedoms and the way Americans live.

Lawmakers, especially Republicans, say that better checked driver licenses will reduce voter fraud. U.S. Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican, said March 7 that illegal aliens and non-citizens are using many tactics to vote illegally. He told the House Judiciary Committee that their first approach begins by obtaining a state driver license.

He complained that some states allow aliens to receive a driver license by refusing to verify each voter's Social Security Number. Only citizens can legally get a Social Security Number.

A minor problem
Opponents, mostly Democrats, say voter fraud is a minor problem. Sen. Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat, made that point in a recent speech.

He said that a government committee found very few fraudulent votes in the 2002 and 2004 federal elections. Only 52 out of almost 200 million votes cast were not legal, Obama said.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard a complaint about the state of Indiana's voter ID rules last week. The ACLU and NAACP argued that the rules would make it harder for the poor and elderly to vote.

The new driver license rules are in the federal Real ID Act. They say that people must prove they are U.S. citizens or living legally in the United States to apply for a first driver license or state identification (ID).

The Real ID Act also says that states must follow the driver license rules or the driver licenses issued in those states will not be accepted as ID for airline flights. States have until 2011 to comply.

Seventeen states have passed laws or statements objecting to the Real ID Act. Many of them argue that following the law will cost too much. The states are Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington.

Wisconsin is not one of them. Wisconsin law requires the state to cancel the driver license or ID card of a person who is in the country illegally.

A Note to Our Readers

Many people believe that a national identity card system is a way for the government to track the movements of all Americans. They believe it takes away our civil rights and freedom to travel wherever we wish.
In addition, they say that the cost of getting a card would hurt the poor and elderly. Without a driver license or ID, the poor and elderly would not be able to vote.

Another concern is that the federal government will use the system to identify illegal immigrants and send them back to their own countries. People who are in the country illegally would not be able to get jobs, drive a car, or go to school.

What do you think? Does the Real ID Act take away freedoms that are granted under the Constitution? Send us your thoughts on this subject. Write to The Key Editor at balistrv@matc.edu. We will print the best responses.