Supporters of a bill in Iowa want driver’s licenses to show a person’s citizenship status to stop noncitizens from voting. However, others argue that this could discriminate against immigrants and cause confusion when voting.
House Study Bill 37 would require a person’s citizenship status to be listed on the back of their driver’s license or non-operator identification card. When filing to renew or get a new ID, people must tell the Iowa Department of Transportation whether they are U.S. citizens or noncitizens.
Lori Stiles, a poll worker since 2008, said it’s always a worry to check if someone is a citizen when they register to vote on Election Day. To vote at the polls in Iowa, you need to show a photo ID, such as a driver’s license, and proof of where you live. You do not need to prove you are a U.S. citizen.
Stiles said, “At that time, we can’t question a voter about that.” “This label on a driver’s license would help identify U.S. citizens, since only U.S. citizens can vote in elections in the U.S., including those in Iowa.”
Some speakers, like Connie Ryan from the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, said that adding citizenship information to driver’s licenses could cause issues for immigrants who have become naturalized citizens and want to vote legally. If someone gets a driver’s license before they become a U.S. citizen, the Iowa Secretary of State’s office does not have to change the voter registration records when that person becomes a citizen.
“Ryan said there’s no information on when the voting lists are updated or if they are correct.” “We noticed that in the last election.”
In the 2024 general election, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate advised county auditors to question the ballots of 2,176 registered voters. These voters were flagged as possible noncitizens because they had told the Iowa Department of Transportation or another government agency that they were noncitizens in the last 12 years. Some noncitizens were found on Iowa’s voter list, but many of these people later became U.S. citizens and gained the right to vote after they had identified themselves as noncitizens to the state.
Pate stated that the directive was needed because the government U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office did not share citizenship information about people who might not be citizens. In January, he proposed a new law to help verify the citizenship of registered voters. This bill would let the Secretary of State’s office work with state and government agencies, along with private companies, to confirm voters’ citizenship.
Rep. Lindsay James from Dubuque believes that adding citizenship status to driver’s licenses is not the best solution for concerns about noncitizens voting in Iowa elections. She worries that this could lead to discrimination.
“We’ve already heard that folks are using their driver’s license when they are renting cars, when they are purchasing things in the store, and the potential for discrimination when you have a unique identifier is significant,” James said. These are people who are officially in the country and are working towards becoming citizens. They are good members of the community and hopefully will be citizens soon. What else could this information be used for besides voting?
Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, said the bill aims to make sure that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections.
“We have every right as a state to ensure that only citizens are voting in our elections,” he said. “We believe this is the best way to go for now, but we will talk about it and see if there’s another option.”
Wheeler told reporters that there are details to work out in the bill. This includes what information should be on IDs, whether citizenship status needs to be shown on other photo IDs used for voter registration, and if driver’s licenses need to be updated when someone’s citizenship status changes.
The subcommittee moved the measure forward with a 2-1 vote, and James voted against it.
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