New York Republicans are righfully concerned about the potential for voter fraud in their state. Remember the illegal alien driver’s license controversy that dealt blows to both Elliot Spitzer and Hillary Clinton? Well, GOP lawmakers are trying to make sure that issuance of licenses to non-citizens doesn’t cause problems for next month’s election. The New York Daily News reports:
With Election Day right around the corner, the Republicans are bringing back an issue that brought them national media attention: Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s long-dead plan to let illegal immigrants get driver’s licenses.
Assemblyman Greg Ball, an outspoken Hudson Valley Republican (particularly when it comes to all things immigration-related) who won a bitter GOP primary battle last month, and Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola, who sued over Spitzer’s license plan, are holding a public hearing in Manhattan Thursday on “massive voter fraud potential” caused by the issuance of 23,000 licenses to non-citizens during the former governor’s tenure.
From the press release announcing the hearing, which will be held at the Metropolitan Club:
“Section 5 of the Federal Motor Voter Act requires New York to provide individuals with the opportunity to register to vote at the same time that they apply for a driver’s license or seek to renew a driver’s license.
By law, none of these 23,000 foreign visitors are eligible to vote, yet now many are registered because they hold Spitzer licenses. A public hearing will be conducted on October 16th in Manhattan to assess what can be done at the local, state, and Federal level to secure these 23,000 licenses and scrub the voter rolls of ineligible voters.”
Thanks, Spitzer.
by Stephan Tawney on Thu, Oct 16, 2008