My state has far more rational rules than other states with regard to
voter registration and voting. After an obnoxious period three decades
ago when Motor Voter was new (which gave us some voters who could
participate in all elections and other voters who were federal-only
voters and had to be issued limited ballots), the state implements the
same federal rules for all elections without regard to whether there is
a federal candidate on the ballot. This means that those eligible to
vote are simultaneously opted in to voter registration when applying for
a driver's license unless they opt out. I always opt out as I prefer to
do these things separately.
Under federal law, there is a database used to check identity that is
combined of Social Security Number/Name matches and driver's license number/name and address matches. There is no address informtion in the
SSN database as SSN uses IRS "last known address" addresses when the
nationwide wage estimates are issued. Only when the recipient starts
receiving retirement benefits or benefits from other Social Security
programs are addresses added.
This isn't a citizenship check. However, a birth certificate is required
to be issued an SSN. Typically, those born in the United States (for the
last several decades) have been enumerated at birth given that all the
same paperwork is required to issue both the birth certificate and SSN.
Foreign nationals eligible to work are issued SSNs too and get
enumerated when their visas (green cards) are issued.
So the Social Security Administration database provides an indirect
citizenship check.
In my state (and pretty much all states), an SSN is prerequisite to be
issued a driver's license, but in addition, a birth certificate must be
shown. Again, it's an indirect citizenship check. If the driver's
license is REAL ID compliant, the applicant brings in all the same
paperwork AGAIN, including the birth certificate. This is an actual
citizenship check as REAL ID identifies citizens only.
My state allows foreign nationals ineligible to work to use ITIN, a number issued by Internal Revenue Service, in lieu of SSN, but IRS issues these numbers using a similar procedure as birth certificates are required. A driver's license/ITIN combination is for a noncitizen and that person is ineligible to register to vote.
Voter registration is closed during the 27 day period prior to an
election. However, we have Grace Period Voting. Voter registration is
allowed in person when voting at an early voting site; all requred identification must be shown. The applicant must register and vote; he's
not allowed to register only, then vote later. At the polling site for
the precinct on Election Day, election day registration is allowed.
Federal law requires provisional voting for people who can't satisfy all
the ID requirements. These ballots are set aside. After the election,
the voter has so many days to provide the missing identification
documents else the ballot won't be cast.
And yes, a woman who has changed her name by marriage or anyone who
changed his name via another type of court order must show the order.
A naturalized citizen provides inforation about the date and court at
which naturalization took place in case there's a reason to verify.
In this article, actual American citizens unable to satisfy New
Hampshire's new citizen check law at voter registration were unable to participate in annual town meetings, literal democracy in states that have township government. Now, with an in-person meeting requirement, there's
no way to vote provisionally. However, there were also examples of
voters prevented from voting at the polls, so New Hampshire isn't
allowing provisional voting at nonfederal elections. And yeah, there was
an example of a woman whose name was changed due to marriage who was
turned away although returning for the third time with required
docuentation, including a marriage license (which she probably had to
show to prove her name when applying for a driver's license), she was
finally allowed to vote.
They also gave an example of a elderly woman who had been married three
times but no longer had any of the marriage certificates and couldn't
prove her name changes. She never voted.
Even the state rep who sponsored the law insisted there wasn't rampant
voter fraud by noncitizens but insisted that the law's requirements
weren't unduly burdensome.
Once again, it's a solution for a nonexistent problem. Who cares if
Americans are the ones these laws end up screwing over.
https://apnews.com/article/save-act-voting-proof-citizenship-new-hampshire-5105986c3fc354d3d61ec3480b49c788
There's a right way to do this and a wrong way to do this. Each state
should maintain a common vital statistics registry of birth, marriage,
and death certificates. Any other identifying information may be added
to it to administer various state programs, such as out-of-state birth
and marriage certificates and primary residence. Make it easier for the individual to update inforation with this registry rather than with
separate programs. If there's a need to provide evidence of a name
change, then file the out-of-state marriage certificate or order of
divorce with the state registry, making it available to the
administrators of other state programs. Filing a United States-issued
birth certificate is evidence of citizenship. If a certificate of
registration of foreign birth was filed with a counsulate, then file
that. If naturalized, then file the naturalization certificate in the
state registry.
The person isn't required to add this information to the registry, but
if he chooses to, then he's met identification requirements applicable
to that piece of identifying information for other state programs.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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