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Kansas committee hears debate on marking citizenship on state IDs in proposed HB 24-48
Summary
Supporters told the Committee on Elections the measure would give poll workers an extra safeguard by marking citizenship status on state IDs; opponents said the change risks profiling, will not solve rare instances of noncitizen voting and could disenfranchise eligible voters.
Members of the Kansas House Committee on Elections heard testimony on House Bill 24-48, a proposal to add "citizenship status" to state driver's licenses and identification cards and to require provisional ballots when a noncitizen ID is presented.
Clay Barker, general counsel for the Kansas Secretary of State, said the change would add “one more layer of protection” to make it easier for election workers to identify potential problems and prevent noncitizens from voting either accidentally or intentionally. Barker told the committee that recent enforcement actions include “2 have been indicted, 3 probably soon, and 10 are being looked at closely,” and that the state uses DMV records and the federal USCIS SAVE system to screen records.
“At the polling place, the driver's license will…
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