Dennis, of West Bloomfield, asked: “Are adults who get a driver’s license automatically registered to vote? Is there any guarantee that newly registered drivers are citizens? Will driver’s licenses be issued to non-citizens?”
This is a good question and one we get asked a lot here at Bridge.
Related:
Americans who apply for a Michigan driver’s license are automatically registered to vote unless they opt out.
Aliens who are “lawfully present” in the country can apply for driver’s licenses, but there are several safeguards in place to prevent them from registering to vote. Some Michigan Democrats have proposed allowing undocumented immigrants to get licenses, but legislation that would allow that has not advanced.
Under current Michigan law, people must show proof of citizenship status, such as a birth certificate, Social Security number or passport, to get a driver’s license or state ID.
Only U.S. citizens may register to vote under the Secretary of State’s computerized license application system.
Michigan Department of State spokeswoman Angela Benander said the system is designed to block non-citizens from registering to vote by submitting their documents. Employees cannot manually disable the system and must complete checks to ensure non-citizens aren’t mistakenly registered to vote.
Automatic voter registration was written into the Michigan Constitution as part of a “pro-vote” ballot proposition in 2018 and expanded by lawmakers late last year. Similar laws are on the books in nearly half of states, according to a report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Research Institute.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, automatic voter registration laws would remove barriers to voter registration and improve election accuracy, but opponents say voters don’t receive enough notice about how to unregister.
