Gov. Spitzer's Driver License rule change

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I think we should do a better job of welcoming immigrants. We should make it easier for those people who want to come here to work and contribute to do it legally. I believe we need a steady stream of immigrants to keep the country vital and competitive. license.jpg

That said, I think the Governor needs to think through the ramifications of his decision to provide driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. The plan is not well thought out. One of the problems with this decision is that it opens the door to increased voter fraud.

The voter registration forms in NY only require a driver's license number to prove citizenship. Changes could be made to the license numbers to indicate the bearer is not a citizen, for example the use of a certain range of numbers, or the use of letters in certain positions. These indicators would need to be easily recognizable.

Of course, legal immigrants who are non-citizens can get a NY State driver's license now. We depend on the honesty of these legal immigrants to not register to vote if they aren't citizens.

Another option is to change the voter registration rules to require a more positive proof of citizenship; however that will have the effect of making it harder to register to vote.

The answer is to change our national immigration laws to make it easier for people who want to work here to do it legally.

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Here's an article with a lot of detail on the plan:

Spitzer's License Plan Hit On Timing, Technology
http://www.nysun.com/article/64299

...and a Times-Union blog posting on the subject, with lots of comments.

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=5593

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