In several recent articles, I pointed out that Initiative IL26-126 – the Proof of Citizenship Initiative – would remove hundreds of thousands of legal voters from the voter rolls because IL26-126 requires voters to have an “Enhanced Washington Drivers License” to remain on the voting rolls and only 30% of Washington’s 5 million voters have an Enhanced Drivers License. In response, on August 8, 2025, proponents of this Initiative posted a “Fact Sheet” boldly stating that IL26-126 “does not suppress or discourage voter registration in any way” and “does not change current voting in any way” and “does not require anyone to buy an Enhanced Washington Drivers License.” Therefore, in this article, we will look at what Initiative IL26-126 actually says about this issue.
Here is a link to the 9 page PDF of Initiative IL26-126:
https://www2.sos.wa.gov/_assets/elections/initiatives/finaltext_3262.pdf
Here is a screenshot of Section 1 of the Initiative:
Here is the text of Section 1.1 and 1.2:
“(1) By July 1, 2027, each county auditor must consult with the department of licensing to determine whether each registered voter in the county has demonstrated proof of citizenship by applying for and receiving an enhanced driver's license or identicard under chapter 46.20 RCW.”
(2) If the registered voter has demonstrated proof of citizenship, the voter shall remain registered.”
Put in plain English, by July 1, 2027, the county auditor must determine whether each voter in their county has an enhanced drivers license. If the voter has an enhanced license, the voter will remain on the voter rolls.
Currently, about 27% of Washington citizens have an enhanced license and that rate as only been increasing by about one percent a year. This is according to a CBS News April 2025 analysis of all 50 states. A Seattle Times analysis made at the same time concluded that 29% of Washington voters have an enhanced license. To keep the math simple, we will assume that less than 30% of Washington voters have an enhanced license. 30% of 5 million voters is 1.5 million voters. This means that 1.5 million voters will remain on the voter rolls.
But what happens to the 3.5 million voters who do not have an enhanced drivers license?
That is covered in Section 1.3. Here is the screenshot of this section:
Here is the text of Section 1.3:
“(3)(a) If the registered voter has not demonstrated proof of citizenship, the county auditor shall:
(i) Send a notice to the voter informing the voter that the voter must appear in person at the auditor's office and demonstrate proof of citizenship;
(ii) If the voter has not demonstrated proof of citizenship 30 days prior to the 2027 general election, send a second notice to the voter informing the voter that the voter must appear in person at the auditor's office and demonstrate proof of citizenship; and
(iii) If the voter has not demonstrated proof of citizenship 14 days prior to the 2027 general election, cancel the registration and send a notice to the voter. The notice must inform the voter that the voter's registration is canceled and provide instructions for registering to vote.”
Put in plain English, any voter without an enhanced license by July 1, 2027, will be sent a notice by their county auditor informing them that they must appear in person at the auditor’s office by about October 1, 2027 and provide proof of citizenship. So voters will have about 90 days to find the needed documents and bring them to their county auditor.
Any voter who fails to go to the auditors office in person and provide the required documents will get a second notice and have only 14 days to find the needed documents and bring them to the county auditor in person.
Any voter that fails to bring their documents to the county auditor by the middle of October will be removed from the voter rolls. There are no exceptions.
Therefore, even if you have a valid US passport, you will not remain on the voter rolls unless you find your valid passport and go in person to your county auditor office and allow them to copy your US passport. About 3 million Washington voters have a valid passport. But not all of them will be able to find their passport. Even if they do, imagine the chaos of 3 million people all making appointments at the county auditor’s office.
But what if you are one of the 2 million Washington voters who do not have a passport or if your passport is not valid?
The most common way to get back on the voter rolls will be to find your valid Washington Birth Certificate.That option is covered on Page 2 of the Initiative. Here is a screen shot:
Put in plain English, a wallet Birth Certificate, will not be accepted. Nor will a copy of your Birth Certificate. It needs to be the original birth certificate with your full name, date of birth, place of birth and include the Registrar Seal, the Registrar’s signature and a control number. You will also need other documents if your current name does not match the name on the birth certificate (a common occurrence for married women). This will include official marriage papers and divorce papers. The problem here is that many people move about every three years and lost these documents years ago.
What is an enhanced Washington Drivers License?
To get an “Enhanced” Drivers License requires providing additional evidence such as an original certified birth certificate or a valid passport. It costs $128 to get an Enhanced Drivers License for 8 years. It is mainly used by folks who fly on planes or go across the Canadian or Mexican border. It was claimed that, starting May 7, 2025, normal Washington Drivers licenses would no longer be accepted as valid forms of ID for boarding domestic flights. However, so few people have enhanced Drivers Licenses (also called Real ID), that folks can still go on domestic flights without them – but they are put in a separate line where they are asked questions like what their address is.
The percent of drivers in Washington state with enhanced drivers licenses is very low
Despite the repeated threats being made about Real ID being required over the past 17 years, many people have refused to comply. There are 5 million registered voters in Washington state. An April 2025 analysis by CBS News of the Enhanced (Real ID) licenses in all 50 states found that only 27% of Washington drivers have an Enhanced license. A May 6, 2025 article indicated that only 29% of Washington drivers have an enhanced drivers license.
Thus, it is reasonable to assume that of our 5 million voters, less than 2 million have an enhanced drivers license and will therefore not need to register in person. However, 3 million currently registered and valid Washington voters do not have an enhanced drivers license and will be required to appear in person with an original birth certificate or a valid passport at their county auditors office to remain on the voters rolls.
A normal Washington Drivers License now states “Federal Limits Apply.”
(See image below)
Why have so many people refused to get an enhanced license?
Some people object to getting an enhanced drivers license because it costs $128 for 8 years. Some object that they are unable to get an enhanced license because they have no idea where their original Birth Certificate is. Even after 20 years of threatening Americans that they will not be able to get on a plane if they do not get an Enhanced Drivers License, 70% of Washington Drivers have refused to get the Enhanced Drivers License. These Washington citizens have “voted with their feet” that they are opposed to the Enhanced Drivers Licenses.
The Proof of Citizenship Initiative also gives preference to those who already have a valid US Passport
A valid US Passport is required to travel overseas and is useful for traveling to Canada or Mexico. About 60% of Washington voters have a valid passport. But these are likely the same people who have an enhanced Drivers License. Therefore, at most 1 million people will be able to easily take their passport to their county auditor and get back on the voter rolls. But this still leaves 2 million people who will need to find their original birth certificate to get back on the voter rolls.
Older Americans are less likely to have a valid passport than younger Americans
A 2023 YouGov survey found that 50% of people under 30 have a valid passport but only 33% of people between ages 45 to 64 have a valid passport. Thus the age group least likely to vote (young people) have more passports while the age group most likely to vote (older people) have fewer passports. This is age discrimination.
About 80% of low income people do not have a valid passport
Most of those without valid passports are relatively poor people. Only 21% of people making less than 50K per year have a valid passport, while 44% of people making 50 to 100K per year have a valid passport and an amazing 64% of people making more than 100K per year have a valid passport. This is discrimination against poor people.
There are huge racial differences in passport ownership
55% of Hispanic Americans have passports and 42% of white Americans have passports, but only 34% of Black Americans have passports.
The fact that the Voter ID Initiative gives those with a enhanced drivers licenses and or valid passports an easier pathway to registering to vote may lead to Constitutional challenges under the 14th Amendment for racial discrimination. (see legal rulings in our legal problems article).
Let’s take a closer look at who these two million people without passports or enhanced drivers licenses are. It turns out they are older people, lower income people, black people and women.
Many people and particularly women and homeless people have problems finding or even getting a valid Birth Certificate
A survey conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice found that more than 9 percent of American citizens of voting age don’t have proof of citizenship readily available. The survey asked respondents whether they had documents that prove their citizenship — a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers — readily available.
About 8% don’t have these documents at all, often because they were lost, destroyed, or stolen. 8 percent of five million Washington voters is 400,000 voters. Who are these 400,000 voters who are most likely to be disenfranchised?
The groups most likely to be disenfranchised are homeless people and married women who have changed their surnames. Nearly 80 percent of married women adopt their partner’s surname, and some would be unable to register to vote if the name on their ID does not directly match their proof of citizenship.
This group of unlucky voters includes married women who changed their last name when they got married. They will need to find and present their official Marriage Certificate in addition to their original Birth Certificate. If they got divorced or remarried, they will need to also provide their official Divorce Papers and Second Marriage documents.
This point was raised by the League of Women Voters in a press release opposing the Trump 2025 Presidential Order that is similar to the Washington Proof of Citizenship Initiative. The problem is that women are a legally protected class. This means that the government is required to protect the rights of women. The League of Women Voters has already filed a complaint in federal court in April 2025 – and won – over this restriction of their voting rights. They will almost certainly win again should this Initiative become law in our state in 2026.
But there are many other people besides women who will have a difficult time obtaining their original valid Birth Certificate in order to get back on the Voter Rolls. This includes homeless people, poor people, minorities, senior citizens and people who have moved a lot of times – especially people who have moved from other states to Washington state.
Thousands of unfortunate citizens, many of them elderly, will undoubtedly find themselves caught in a bureaucratic nightmare and lose their right to vote because they’re missing a piece of paper. Legal voters who have lost their records due to fires, floods or natural disasters will have a very difficult time obtaining the documents they need to get a Real ID card
Finally, there are no exceptions with Real ID Act for the in-person rule—Americans who are elderly, have health problems, full-time jobs, or young children for whom they cannot afford child care all must travel to the DMV and endure this cumbersome process. In some parts of the state, individuals may have to travel significant distances to reach their county DMV office.
The total number of legal Washington voters who will not be able to meet this new “proof of citizenship” requirement is in the tens of thousands and possibly in the hundreds of thousands.
An attempt to impose Real ID in Pennsylvania ruled against the Pennsylvania State Constitution as it disenfranchised “hundreds of thousands of voters”
Washington state has one of the lowest “Real ID” compliance rates in the nation (73% non-compliant). Another state where the citizens has refused to go along with Real ID is Pennsylvania – also with a 73% non-compliance rate. In March 2012, the Pennsylvania Assembly passed a Voter ID law requiring that everyone in Pennsylvania “re-register” with “Real ID” proof of citizenship. This law, which was similar to Washington Initiative IL26-126, was challenged in Pennsylvania state court by the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, the Homeless Advocacy Project and a number of voters in a case called Applewhite v Pennsylvania.
After nearly two years of litigation, including a ruling against the law by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, on January 17, 2014, a Pennsylvania judge ruled the Pennsylvania voter ID law violated the Pennsylvania state constitution by “imposing unreasonable burdens on the right to vote” and threatened a fundamental right of hundreds of thousands of qualified voters. This ruling is significant because the Pennsylvania State Constitution election provisions are nearly identical to the Washington State Constitution election provisions. Here is a link to the 103 page ruling:
https://pubintlaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Voter-ID-Final-Order.pdf
The Pennsylvania State Constitution Article 1, Section 5 states that “Elections must be free and equal and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.”
Compare this to Article 1, Section 19 of the Washington state constitution which states: “All Elections shall be free and equal, and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.”
Here are quotes from the Pennsylvania ruling:
“Dr. Siskin used two databases to “determine how many people who were registered voters in Pennsylvania would not have a valid photo ID of those three types. His analysis yielded 511,415 voters… The over half million figure is likely understated. … Respondent (state) rebuttal expert proffered approximately 430,000 registered electors remain without compliant photo ID…. Dr. Marker concluded “the vast majority of voters who lack a PennDOT ID also lack another form of acceptable ID.”
“This Court considered Dr. Oyler’s conservative estimate… that between 4% to 5% of registered electors, roughly 320,000 – 400,000 lack the requisite ID. “
“The overwhelming evidence reflects that there are hundreds of thousands of qualified voters who lack compliant ID… Specifically DOS 2012 Database Match showed approximately 759,000 registered electors did not have a PennDOT Secure ID (representing 9% of all registered electors).
In plain English, the Pennsylvania court found that requiring Real ID documentation disenfranchised at least 4 to 5 percent of Pennsylvania voters and possibly as many as 9% of Pennsylvania voters who were not able to provide the needed documentation. This result, from 2014, is nearly identical to my estimate for Washington state in 2025.
But this is just the beginning of the problems with the Proof of Citizenship Initiative. In our next article, we will explain why the Proof of Citizenship Initiative will make our elections even less secure than they are now.
For now, we will return to the claims made by proponents of this Initiative that IL26-126:
“does not suppress or discourage voter registration in any way” and
“does not change current voting in any way” and
“does not require anyone to buy an Enhanced Washington Drivers License.”
I will leave it to you to decide whether any of these three claims are accurate.