It has long been a Democratic ploy to get illegals into the country, pander to them, get them registered to vote, and hope they will vote for Democrats.  Of course, the Constitution clearly provides that only citizens may vote in federal elections, and it is a felony for noncitizens to do so.  Nonetheless, Obama may be successful in getting a new justice on SCOTUS who will permit Obama’s latest executive order to proceed.  As a result, several million more illegals will be eligible for what Obama calls “relief.”  Part of this relief is to force states to give them driver’s licenses based on the federal work permits that will be handed out to them.  This provides a wonderful opportunity for some serious pushback and a way to protect the integrity of our voting process.

The Real ID Act of 2005 requires states to verify who is getting a driver’s license.  Under the rules set forth, an applicant, or even someone renewing his or her longstanding license, must prove one of two things.  A few states have not adopted these requirements, and recently the government has declared that driver’s licenses from those few states may not be used to board an aircraft.

First, the applicant can prove he or she is a U.S. citizen.  This is proven by a birth certificate, Social Security card, and/or a list of other documents.  I personally had to order a certified copy of my birth certificate to renew my license, which I have held for 50 years.

Second, if not a citizen, an applicant must prove his legal presence in the United States.  The rules provide many forms of proof, such as green cards, current visas with appropriate work authorization, etc.  A valid and current Employment Authorization Document (EAD), commonly called a work permit, is one of these documents.  With a work permit, an applicant may get a driver’s license in the states that have adopted the Real ID Act requirements.  Licenses to non-citizens are limited in duration to the expiration dates on their respective documents. 

Once a license is issued, another federal law comes into play.  The Motor Voter laws require licensing agencies to offer voter registration to the new license holders.  This is ironic, if not encouraging of criminal conspiracy, because these same agencies have just determined who is a citizen and who is not.  Why should they be required to add people to the voting list when it would be a crime for them to vote?

Here is where a very real, and simple, enforcement tool and opportunity arises.  How one votes is secret, but whether someone has voted is not.  It would be quite simple to take the records of noncitizens in a given state who hold driver’s licenses and compare that to a list of who has voted.  Anyone appearing on both lists could be investigated, indicted, and prosecuted accordingly.

Any law is not very efficient if not enforced.  Enforcement creates a deterrent.  A few immediate prosecutions and public announcements that there will be strict enforcement after every election would provide a deterrent.  Widespread adoption of this concept in states where possible would send a strong signal and discourage illegal voting. 

There will certainly be howling from the left, but, given the potential for illegal voting, it is a fight worth having.  It also opens the door to have an honest discussion on voter ID requirements.  The ID and documentation to get a driver’s license under federally mandated rules demonstrate the folly of the alleged unfairness the left cites against voter ID laws.  What is or should be more important: protecting the integrity of our national elections or getting a driver’s license?  It would at least be interesting to see the lengths to which the Democrats will go to protect their ploy.