Critics of a new law allowing illegal immigrants in New York to get driver’s licenses warned that the new policy could lead to voter fraud — and one of the bill’s sponsors agreed.
“[A] major concern is that many states, including New York, use their DMVs to enroll voters. Since New York does not have voter-identification laws like the majority of other states do, this bill increases the potential for voter fraud,” state Senate Minority Leader John Flanagan (R) said, according to the New York Post.
John Conklin, a spokesman for the state’s Board of Elections, also confirmed that prospective voters only need to show a driver’s license as proof of ID.
Even supporters of the legislation, like bill sponsor Luis Sepúlveda (D) admitted that “theoretically” illegal immigrants who obtained these new driver’s licenses “could have the ability to vote.” But, he argued, this should not prevent illegal immigrants from getting driver’s licenses, since there would always be ways to commit voter fraud, but that such instances were uncommon. – READ MORE