Voter law complicates new Kansas driver’s license

John Hanna, AP Political Writer

Topeka, Kan. (AP) — Kansas hasn't decided when to start issuing a new type of driver's license to residents who voluntarily document their U.S. citizenship while renewing their licenses, Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan said Monday as he defended a policy shift affecting enforcement of a proof-of-citizenship requirement for voters.

Jordan said the state Department of Revenue has no firm date for rolling out the change for people renewing their licenses because it's unsure how the federal government will enforce the 2005 Real ID Act, an anti-terrorism law designed to make state driver's licenses more secure. The department plans to issue a renewed license with a gold star when someone provides a birth certificate, passport or other citizenship papers.

A separate Kansas law requires new voters to document their citizenship when registering. When legislators approved it in 2011, the Department of Revenue was planning to require proof of citizenship for all license renewals, and lawmakers anticipated that the agency would forward electronic copies of the papers to election officials.

Jordan said during an interview with The Associated Press that his department once intended to impose the stricter policy, believing the federal government would require it anyway. Federal officials have since been "gray and mushy" about what will be required of states for their licenses to be valid ID for entering federal buildings or boarding commercial airplanes, Jordan said.

He announced in September that the department had dropped its original plans in favor of giving motorists a choice as they renewed their licenses, but the department is facing criticism. More than 19,300 prospective voters' registrations are on hold because they haven't complied with their proof-of-citizenship requirement, making them legally unable to cast ballots.

"How much do we want to put Kansans through with the fact that we don't really know what Real ID means yet?" Jordan said. "That's a whole different policy decision than voter ID, and we're kind of caught between making a decision on two policies here."

Jordan also noted that the department is alerting election officials when motorists do provide citizenship papers and is combing its records for people who have done so in the past. Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican, championed the proof-of-citizenship rule for voters as a way to combat fraud. But critics note that few cases of non-citizens voting have been reported and say the requirement suppresses turnout.

Kansas law requires people who are getting new driver's licenses to document that they're in the U.S. legally, and non-citizens are required to present such documentation when they renew their licenses. State law doesn't impose such a requirement for citizens who renew their licenses, but House Elections Committee Chairman Scott Schwab, an Olathe Republican, said lawmakers had expected federal law would force it.

Schwab said lawmakers could consider proposals next year to require the department to go back to its original plans. He said when legislators discussed the proof-of-citizenship requirement, they expected a strict driver's license renewal policy to make the voter requirement easier to enforce.

"Them not doing it was never an option," Schwab said.

But Jordan noted that other states, including Indiana and Wisconsin, now have driver's license policies like Kansas'.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement earlier this month that 21 states, including Kansas, Indiana and Wisconsin, are in complying with the federal Real ID Act. The statement said requiring more secure IDs to board airplanes "will occur no sooner than 2016."

Kobach said a stricter driver's license policy could reduce the registrations on hold but was never crucial to administering the election law.

"Ultimately, we'll make it work, either way," he said.

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The Gayly – January 1, 2014 @ 10:50am