Connecticut Governor Wants To Give Noncitizens IDs That Look Exactly Like Those Used To Vote
Connecticut’s Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont is trying to redesign driver’s licenses so that those given to illegal aliens will be indistinguishable from those given to legal residents — in the same state where one city just had an election do-over because of an apparent cast of voter fraud.
The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles currently denotes on licenses if they are “Drive Only” IDs, a measure put in place to ensure ineligible individuals cannot vote, according to the CT Examiner. “Drive Only” licenses have a “DO” stamp on the front and information on the back clearly stating they may not be used for voting.
Gov. Ned Lamont, however, wants to remove the marks because he’s mad that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that does not recognize licenses given to illegal immigrants.
“Connecticut prides itself on being a welcoming state,” Lamont’s spokeswoman Julia Bergman said in a statement, according to CT Examiner. “As some states work to target undocumented people, the visual differences in the licenses Connecticut provides to undocumented people has unintentionally made Connecticut residents with varying immigration statuses vulnerable in hostile states.”
Florida passed legislation last year specifying that it will not recognize licenses from Connecticut and four other states that permit illegal immigrants to get the government-issued ID.
“Someone who is in our country illegally and has violated our laws should not possess a government-issued ID which allows them access to state-funded services and other privileges afforded to lawful residents,” Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said, according to The Hill. Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Dave Kerner added that “Florida will not accept driver’s licenses from those who cannot provide proof of lawful presence in the United States.”
But if Lamont’s efforts are successful, some are worried it could open the door to voting fraud.
Cara Gately, the Republican Registrar of Voters for the town of Darien, told CT Examiner that poll workers will have a hard time determining whether an individual is eligible to register to vote and cast a vote, especially since the state permits same-day voter registration.
“If such language is removed, election officials and poll workers very likely will unknowingly and erroneously accept the application for registration and allow ineligible persons to vote at poll sites in contradiction of state and federal law,” Gately told CT Examiner.
Republican State Rep. Tom O’Dea expressed similar concerns, saying “registrars are taught and volunteers are told, if they present the license for ID, make sure it doesn’t have ‘DO’ on it and look at the back where it says ‘not valid for voting purposes.’ And now you want to get rid of that?”
“I think this is a bad idea, particularly coming on the heels of what went on in Bridgeport,” O’Dea reportedly continued.
Bridgeport Democratic Mayor Joe Ganim won his primary race in January months after a judge overturned the original primary because evidence appeared to show his campaign affiliates “stuffing ballot boxes.”
Ganim was losing on election night to John Gomes by 487 votes but by Wednesday morning he was up 251 votes, after a flood of absentee ballots came in.
Superior Court Judge William Clark ruled “the volume of ballots so mishandled is such that it calls the result of the primary election into serious doubt” after footage emerged of two Democratic officials shoving ballots into drop boxes, a violation of state law which says “the voter must personally mail or personally return the ballot for it to be counted,” with exceptions for household relatives.
Clark also noted the “high percentage of absentee ballots” cast in certain districts where the two Democrat officials were connected. The general election was still held on Nov. 7 after Clark determined he lacked sufficient authority to stop it, but a second primary was held in January to determine if a subsequent general election would need to be conducted.
Ganim previously served time in prison after his first stint as mayor but was later reelected following his release.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist.
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