Proving citizenship

I remember the summer of 1971. My proudest day was when I took my birth certificate to the elections office and registered to vote. It was that year that 18-year-olds received their draft numbers and the right to vote. If your draft number came up, you were conscripted into the military. Congress decided that because this reality meant life or death to some, we should be able to have a voice. I’ve never missed an election since then. I knew it was my civic duty.

How things have changed. The federal and state constitutions both state that you must be a citizen to vote. Our state was one of the first to allow non-citizens to vote by not verifying citizenship. How? Anyone who has been in DOL offices has watched individuals fill out the form for an ID card or driver’s license. The attendant asks them if they are a citizen. The response for some is a moment of silence and a slow yes, YES I’m a citizen. In Washington, getting a driver’s license or ID card now “automatically” registers a person to vote without the aforementioned proof. You literally have to opt out. When people went to the high schools to register 16-year-olds to vote before the pandemic, I would bet the farm that none had to prove citizenship. Their driver’s licenses probably sufficed. It should be the duty of our state attorney general to investigate and enforce our laws. Don’t hold your breath.

Dwayne Brecto

Spokane