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  • 2016-02-22 (xsd:date)
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  • Did California Pass a Law Allowing Undocumented Immigrants to Vote in Federal Elections? (en)
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  • In February 2016, California officials announced that more than 600,000 undocumented people were granted driver's licenses in 2015 (the first year after AB 60 took effect): That announcement renewed interest in another California law, the New Motor Voter Act, which was passed in October 2015. The combination of these two acts, one allowing undocumented residents to obtain driver's licenses, the other automatically registering citizens to vote when obtaining driver's licenses, sparked fears (which have been periodically resurrected for more than a decade) that California was allowing undocumented residents to vote. Judge Andrew Napolitano gave a voice to these fears during an appearance on Fox & Friends: But neither Assembly Bill 60 nor the New Motor Voter Act provide undocumented immigrants with any additional federal benefits: The law requires that applicants under the Motor Voter Act attest that they meet all voter registration requirements, but critics maintain that the law lacks the necessary safeguards to keep noncitizens off the voter rolls. Although those critics fear that undocumented residents may slip through the loopholes and becomes registered to vote, it's not accurate to say that California has made it legal for undocumented residents to vote. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla asserted that the motor voter registration process was more secure than the existing automated registration procedure: Initially the law required that the state implement the California New Motor Voter Program by 1 January 2020, but a lawsuit over the issue resulted in a legislative amendation that pushed the date forward to April 2018. While it's true that undocumented residents living in California can obtain driver's licenses, the state has not passed any laws that also provide them the right to vote. The New Motor Voter Act was passed in an effort to improve voter turnout, and while this law does automatically register citizens to vote when they obtain or renew their driver's licenses, that action only applies to citizens who have already attested and/or documented an eligibility to vote. In November 2016, the California city of San Francisco did pass a ballot proposition allowing some non-citizens to register to vote in local school board elections only. (en)
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