II. Legislative Alert: And Here I Thought the Right to Vote Was Sacred
          Every July 4, I think about the sacrifice of generations before us. From the founding of our country, to the ending of slavery, to the two world wars, men and women have died to keep us free. Along with our precious freedom come the benefits of being an American citizen and the sacred right to vote. When we grant an immigrant their American citizenship, one of the things they treasure the most is their newfound voting rights. New citizens, as well as birth right Americans, are troubled by the disturbing trend of those who are in the country illegally voting in our elections.

        According to a recent article by Hans A. von Spakovsky in National Review Online, illegal voting may not be a large number, but in a close election, the effects could be significant. The Government Accounting office estimates that up to 3 percent of individuals called for grand jury duty from voter registration rolls in just one U.S. court jurisdiction were not U.S. Citizens. Remember Florida 2000? With over one million illegal aliens voting in Florida, according to von Spakovsky, "It is certainly enough to tip an election. For instance, a congressional seat in California was within 200 votes of being stolen in 1996 by non-citizens' voting."

        After a thorough investigation in 1982, the U.S. Attorney's office concluded that there were 80,000 non-citizens registered to vote in Chicago. A representative from INS testified in the investigation and verified the approximate number. The grand jury found that the primary benefit of a non-citizen registering to vote is so that they could "obtain documents identifying them as U.S. citizens" and had used their voter registration cards "to obtain a myriad of benefits from social security to jobs with the Defense Department."

        The problem seems to lie in the current methods of voter registration. Federal laws were passed to make registration easier by not requiring proof of citizenship. Laws like Motor Voter encourage states to register anyone who is obtaining a driver's license to register to vote regardless of citizenship. "Moreover, federal agencies in charge of immigration and customs enforcement refuse to comply with a federal law that requires them to cooperate with election officials in checking with citizenship status of registered voters," according to von Spakovsky. In other words, the integrity of our voter registration system relies on an "honor" system where we hope that people who come here illegally will not register to vote.

        I value and treasure my right to vote as all American citizen citizens should. That right was paid for with the blood, sweat, and tears of the generations that came before us. That sacred vote is cancelled out every time a vote is cast illegally. Therefore, proof of citizenship should be required to register to vote and only citizens should do so. Regardless of how one might feel about the subject of immigration, I think we all agree that only legal, American citizens should vote in our elections.

Anne Coker is 4th Vice President of the Arlington Republican Club and owns a company that sells pre-employment testing.