New WA State Legislation Would Force Legal Residency Proof to Vote

The tragic shooting staged by a non-U.S. citizen at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, WA has now created a nationwide debate over whether non-citizens and other illegals are influencing elections.

At a Spokane press conference Friday, Secretary of State Kim Wyman said she is going to propose legislation that would institute what's called Citizen Check, a program requiring proof of legal U.S. residency or citizenship, before someone can vote and it would also apply to drivers licenses.

Washington state is not in compliance with a Federal law that requires legal proof before getting a driver's license, and that is the most common form of photo ID used to sign up to vote. Our state is the only one that does not have some sort of system for checking on legitimacy of voters in this way.

Wyman addressed Arcan Cetin, the Turkish national who emigrated to the U.S. when he was younger, but was not a U.S. citizen. Several sources reported, after checking into his backround, that Cetin registered to vote and participated in three election cycles dating back to 2014.

The Federal government won't comment on his status, but it's already been virtually proven by other sources Cetin was not a legal U.S. resident or citizen.

Although a number of states are also not in compliance with the Federal proof laws, many are moving in that direction. Washington legislators have tried passing similar driver's license and voting laws, requiring proof of legal residence or citizenship, but they failed to pass, largely because of the Democratically-controlled House.

Under our current system, someone can obtain a driver's license, and then use that information to register to vote online, and there's virtually no way to check and see if they are legally entitled to vote. Despite numerous changes to the voting system which have greatly increased credibility and done away with a lot of voter fraud, the Cetin issue points out a lot must still be done.