Iowa driver's licenses would list citizenship status under a bill aiming to home in on verifying voters' citizenship status at the polls.
The Iowa House Judiciary Subcommittee advanced House Study Bill 37 Wednesday, which would require a person to provide United States citizenship status when applying for or renewing a driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card. The Department of Transportation would be required to include a person’s citizenship status on the backside of a driver's license.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate speaks during a press conference, Oct. 9, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP, file)
This bill comes months after Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate ordered county auditors to challenge ballots of Iowans whose names were on a list of individuals who at one point indicated on Iowa Department of Transportation documents that they were legal residents but not U.S. citizens who then later attempted to register to vote or voted in an election. The order came just weeks before the November election.
It was unknown whether the more than 2,000 Iowans became citizens before registering or voting. Many of the people on the list went on to prove their citizenship with their county auditor's office, either after being contacted by auditor's office employees or after having their ballot challenged.
Pate's office had asked U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to provide the citizenship status of the people on the list, but the request was denied, his office said at the time.
Lori Stiles, a poll worker from Johnston, said adding the designation to driver's licenses will help identify U.S. citizens at the polls.
“I’m concerned, trying to know for sure that the person who's coming is indeed a U.S. citizen since we have same-day registration, one pitfall of that is that all they need to produce is a photo ID and a driver's license which will suffice, and that's what's used the most,” Stiles said.
Amy Campbell, representing Lutheran Services in Iowa, said having citizenship status listed on a driver's license could open the door for discrimination.
“There is an opportunity to allow for discrimination when you put something like that on a driver's license, when people are using it to go buy a six-pack of beer, or they're going in to rent a car or anything else, you leave that opportunity open for discrimination,” Campbell said. “The people that are here legally are already facing a number of challenges, and we want to be welcoming and have them stay in our country.”
Rep. Craig Williams, R-Manning, said there already are multiple pieces of information on a driver's license that can subject people to discrimination, including the REAL ID gold star that requires proof of citizenship to obtain.
“We probably already have a few things on there that somebody could say is discriminatory,” Williams said. “I don't see this as being particularly discriminatory in any way, shape or form.”
Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, noted she understands the challenges poll workers face when having to verify someone’s citizenship, but said placing citizenship status on driver's licenses is too broad a solution.
James did not sign off on advancing the bill.
Subcommittee Chair Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, voted to advance the bill along with Williams, saying the state has the right to ensure only U.S. citizens vote in elections.
“It's very difficult to determine that on Election Day, this actually really had nothing to do with illegal aliens,” Wheeler said “This had everything to do with just making sure we had only citizens voting in our election and making sure that distinction is there.”
www.thegazette.com
The Iowa House Judiciary Subcommittee advanced House Study Bill 37 Wednesday, which would require a person to provide United States citizenship status when applying for or renewing a driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card. The Department of Transportation would be required to include a person’s citizenship status on the backside of a driver's license.
This bill comes months after Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate ordered county auditors to challenge ballots of Iowans whose names were on a list of individuals who at one point indicated on Iowa Department of Transportation documents that they were legal residents but not U.S. citizens who then later attempted to register to vote or voted in an election. The order came just weeks before the November election.
It was unknown whether the more than 2,000 Iowans became citizens before registering or voting. Many of the people on the list went on to prove their citizenship with their county auditor's office, either after being contacted by auditor's office employees or after having their ballot challenged.
Pate's office had asked U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to provide the citizenship status of the people on the list, but the request was denied, his office said at the time.
Lori Stiles, a poll worker from Johnston, said adding the designation to driver's licenses will help identify U.S. citizens at the polls.
“I’m concerned, trying to know for sure that the person who's coming is indeed a U.S. citizen since we have same-day registration, one pitfall of that is that all they need to produce is a photo ID and a driver's license which will suffice, and that's what's used the most,” Stiles said.
Amy Campbell, representing Lutheran Services in Iowa, said having citizenship status listed on a driver's license could open the door for discrimination.
“There is an opportunity to allow for discrimination when you put something like that on a driver's license, when people are using it to go buy a six-pack of beer, or they're going in to rent a car or anything else, you leave that opportunity open for discrimination,” Campbell said. “The people that are here legally are already facing a number of challenges, and we want to be welcoming and have them stay in our country.”
Rep. Craig Williams, R-Manning, said there already are multiple pieces of information on a driver's license that can subject people to discrimination, including the REAL ID gold star that requires proof of citizenship to obtain.
“We probably already have a few things on there that somebody could say is discriminatory,” Williams said. “I don't see this as being particularly discriminatory in any way, shape or form.”
Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, noted she understands the challenges poll workers face when having to verify someone’s citizenship, but said placing citizenship status on driver's licenses is too broad a solution.
James did not sign off on advancing the bill.
Subcommittee Chair Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, voted to advance the bill along with Williams, saying the state has the right to ensure only U.S. citizens vote in elections.
“It's very difficult to determine that on Election Day, this actually really had nothing to do with illegal aliens,” Wheeler said “This had everything to do with just making sure we had only citizens voting in our election and making sure that distinction is there.”
Iowa driver's licenses would list U.S. citizenship status under proposed legislation
Iowa driver's licenses would list citizenship status under a bill aiming to home in on verifying voters' citizenship status at the polls.
www.thegazette.com
