My wife and I took advantage of the early voting option May 6th to cast ballots in the May 21, 2024, General Primary, Nonpartisan General Election, and Special Election. Afterward, reflecting on the process, I recognized a feeling of patriotism, as well as a degree of satisfaction for having had the opportunity to participate in something so American. Just by showing my driver’s license, I was acknowledged as being a resident and registered voter in Morgan County.
Then I began to reflect on all the accusations that emanated from the 2020 presidential election about double-voting and ballots having been both stolen as well as cast by ineligible voters. In response, it was Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger who straightforwardly said, “Ensuring that only citizens are voting in Georgia’s elections is the key to upholding the integrity of the vote in Georgia.”
As of last month, 36 states require voters to present at the polls a photo ID, or a non-photo-bearing identification document (utility bill, bank statement or paycheck), in order to vote on Election Day this coming November. In the remaining 14 states and D.C., voters can cast a ballot in person on Election Day without showing an ID document.
Federal law does not allow non-citizens to vote in federal elections. However, recent social media posts and news reports claim President Joe Biden’s administration provides ID cards to undocumented immigrants. This gives rise to the question: will such ID cards or driver’s licenses result in allowing those immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally to vote in federal elections?
A parallel debate suggests that Social Security Administration data shows the number of voters registering without photo ID is skyrocketing in some key swing states, while the SSA’s voter ID verification system indicates non-citizen voting is rare.
Regardless, there is widespread agreement that the laws requiring documented proof of citizenship affect the ability of bona fide citizens to register to vote. The most common types of documents used to prove citizenship are a birth certificate or passport. Surveys have indicated between 5% to 7% of American citizens don’t have either.
Recalling that FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate panel in March, “We have dangerous individuals entering the U.S. illegally at the southern border, creating a wide array of very dangerous threats.” Although Director Wray may have been referring to dangerous activities such as drug trafficking, it seems reasonable to consider the potential harm that can result from hundreds of thousands of non-citizens altering the outcomes of our general election.
An acknowledgement of and an agreement to resolve disparity within our election system needs to happen, whereby more true citizens gain access to voting, while pretenders to the body politic are turned away at the voting booth or, better yet, at the border.
I vote for that.
Peter Wibell Rutledge