Recently, proponents of Initiative IL26-126 posted a "Fact Sheet" which was unfortunately loaded with half-truths and outright false statements. We have therefore been forced to post this "Fact Check" of their erroneous "Fact Sheet."
IL26-126 Proponents Claim: There has been a lot of false information put out about Initiative IL26-126 (Requiring Proof of Citizenship When Registering to Vote).
FACT CHECK: The above statement is false. We have written many articles opposing IL26-126 on our website: WashingtonVoterRightsCoalition.org. We have challenged proponents of this Initiative to give us an example of “false information.” So far, not a single sentence in any article has been shown to be false.
What Initiative IL26-126 DOES:
IL26-126 Proponents Claim: “Requires people to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote.”
FACT CHECK: Only partially true. It also requires 3.5 million existing legal Washington voters - who are already registered to vote - to obtain an “enhanced” (aka real ID) license or they will be removed from the voting rolls and be required to visit their county auditor in person and provide either a valid passport or original certified birth certificate. Here is a screenshot of Section 1 of the Initiative:
Married or divorced women will also be required to provide their original marriage and or divorce papers – all of which will be scanned into an insecure centralized national mega database accessible by thousands of election officials and DHS agents all across the US – and thus creating a Hacker Heaven!
IL26-126 Proponents Claim: “Aligns with federal election law and court rulings.”
FACT CHECK: The above claim is false. There are two federal election laws. Both limit voter verification to a sworn statement. Numerous federal courts have already issued injunctions against the Trump Real ID Executive Order - which is essentially the same as IL26-126 – because it violates these two federal laws. State courts have also rejected similar Voter ID schemes – finding that they disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of legal voters who were unable to provide the required documents. Here is a link to a legal analysis of these 2 federal election laws and 8 court rulings: https://washingtonvoterrightscoalition.org/3-the-initiative-violates-federal-laws
IL26-126 Proponents Claim: “Effectively audits voter rolls (databases) & cleans up incorrect voter information.”
FACT CHECK: Only partially true. The real problem with voter rolls is a failure to remove voters who have moved or died. The Voter ID Initiative will force county auditors to re-register 70% of their legal voters – a total of 3.5 million people. This will reduce the time auditors have to remove, from the voter rolls, voters who have moved or died – and in addition, the dystopian centralized national Real ID tracking system, once hacked, will allow hackers to remotely change the voter data on any and every voter in Washington state – making our voter rolls even less secure and less accurate than they are now. Here is a link to our article explaining how creation of a centralized national voter mega database will make our elections less secure: https://washingtonvoterrightscoalition.org/2-the-initiative-makes-our-election-system-less-secure
IL26-126 Proponents Claim: “Restores trust and confidence in Washington’s election integrity and security processes.”
FACT CHECK: The above statement is false. Every database security expert in the nation – including the Department of Homeland Security’s own database experts - have opposed creating an Orwellian centralized national mega voter database - due to the ease with which it can be hacked. Attempts to re-register millions of citizens in other states have led to a bureaucratic nightmare - reducing confidence in our election system by making things even worse than they are now!
What Initiative IL26-126 DOESN’T Do:
IL26-126 Proponents Claim: “Will not suppress voter registration in any way.”
FACT CHECK: The above statement is false. Studies indicate that 4% to 8% of all current legal voters will not have access to the documents they need to re-register. This will include women, poor people, minorities and senior citizens. The total number disenfranchised will be between 200,000 to 400,000 legal voters. This is one more of several reasons why every federal court that has made a ruling on this violation of federal law has ruled against it. Here is a link to our article explaining why this Initiative would disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters in our state: https://washingtonvoterrightscoalition.org/1-the-initiative-disenfranchises-voters
IL26-126 Proponents Claim: “Will not change current voting in any way.”
FACT CHECK: The above statement is false. Any person without an Enhanced Drivers License (3.5 million Washington voters) will be removed from the voter rolls and will be required to jump through hoops to get back on the voter rolls.
IL26-126 Proponents Claim “Will not require anyone to buy an enhanced license.”
FACT CHECK: Only partially true. The only way to avoid being removed from the voting rolls is to buy an enhanced Washington drivers license ($180 for 8 years). There are no exceptions. Even having a valid passport will not keep you on the voting rolls. If you are one of the 3.5 million Washington voters who do not have an Enhanced WA Drivers License, you will be removed from the rolls and required to visit your county auditor in person and provide them with either a valid passport or certified Birth Certificate (as well as marriage and divorce papers).
A better option to improving our voter rolls is to file a complaint with the US DOJ against Bob Ferguson & the Washington DOL:
There is a way to increase the accuracy of our voter rolls – namely by addressing the ROOT CAUSE of the problem– which is Bob Ferguson and his cronies in his Department of Licensing - who are violating federal election laws by registering thousands of non-citizens!
Rather than forcing millions of legal voters to re-register, we need to force Ferguson & his DOL cronies to comply with federal election laws – by filing a complaint with the US Department of Justice!