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Ives goes after new Chicago ID card

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Illinois

* Press release…

Conservative reform gubernatorial candidate State Rep. Jeanne Ives will discuss legislation she has filed to prohibit Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s new “CityKey” identification card for illegal immigrants to be used as a valid form of identification for registering to vote.

41st Ward Alderman Anthony Napolitano of Chicago’s Northwest side, who voted against the city ordinance that created the “CityKey” id, will join Ives at this press conference to discuss voter fraud prevention and maintaining the integrity of Chicago’s upcoming 2019 municipal elections.

* Tribune…

Ives accused Chicago Democrats of “breathtaking” hypocrisy for obsessing over accusations of Russian meddling in President Donald Trump’s election while at the same time taking steps that she said would make it easier for undocumented immigrants to fraudulently vote in Chicago.

“Accepting the CityKey ID as a legitimate form of identification for voter registration is literally suborning voter fraud, and the political class in the sanctuary city of Chicago is brazen about this fact,” Ives said.

Emanuel dismissed Ives’ criticism. “She should just take her Trump rhetoric out of the city,” he told reporters before Ives’ downtown news conference. “It doesn’t reflect our values.” […]

City Clerk Anna Valencia’s office contends the CityKey will just be another in a long list of forms of identification voters can use to establish residency, among them credit cards, firearms owner ID cards, student ID cards and union membership cards. And while only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote, voters are not required under state law to prove their U.S. citizenship. They simply must attest they are citizens.

But Ives said other forms of ID “are legitimately given to citizens, not noncitizens.” And Napolitano said if the city wanted to avoid potential problems with noncitizens voting with CityKey, Valencia could simply issue IDs that include the cardholder’s citizenship status.

* Sun-Times…

Ives did not go so far as to suggest — as Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson did last month — that Emanuel is “looking for new voters” to replace the African-American voters he lost because of his handling of the Laquan McDonald shooting video.

She simply said that, if Carlson’s allegation is true, “That’s too bad for Rahm. He’s going to have to persuade people who are legal voters.”

Napolitano argued that the city is “documenting undocumented people” by allowing the CityKey ID to be used to register to vote.

“What this is going to do is change elections. Change elections in Chicago. Change elections in the state of Illinois … to entice or encourage people to go register to vote who are illegal immigrants,” he said.

State Board of Elections officials were asked about this topic last week and they pointed out it’s always been a felony to register to vote if you’re not a citizen and that getting caught would likely result in deportation.

* From the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights…

First, the CityKey card is intended for ALL Chicago residents. It is incorrect to refer to the card as an “immigrant” card or a card for the undocumented, despite the way that the card is sometimes portrayed. All Chicago residents can and would benefit from the card.

The CityKey, like any other photo ID such as a driver’s license, can be used for voter registration only to establish the registrant’s identity and the registrant’s address (if it appears on the card–which is optional). It cannot be used to establish that the person qualifies to vote.

When people register to vote, they need to attest that they are US citizens. If noncitizens incorrectly or falsely register, they are subject not only to state criminal penalties for the improper registration but also to immigration consequences, including unwaivable lifetime bars on legal status and deportation. Immigrants who are not yet citizens generally know that they cannot register and vote in US elections–which is one of the main reasons why the opportunity to become US citizens is so important to us.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 2:07 pm

Comments

I’m sure this has nothing to do with Ald. Napolitano being a Dan Proft puppet … nothing at all.

Comment by Reality Check Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 2:12 pm
It’s a photo ID, and can be used like a photo ID. Shocking.

Comment by Perrid Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 2:18 pm
Just out of curiosity in the last 5 elections in Cool County how many people have been charged with illegally voting as a non citizen, how many have been convicted and how many deported?

Comment by DuPage Saint Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 2:25 pm
https://www.snopes.com/chicagos-local-undocumented-vote/

Comment by Peter Torque Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 2:29 pm
Contrary to the hysterical conspiracy theories, most undocumented people would rather do almost anything than try to vote. They spend their entire lives in mortal fear of deportation. You think they’re going to risk a felony to … vote? An activity so unimportant to most actual American citizens that we can rarely get even half of them to do it?

It’s nice that right wingers think of undocumented migrants as so civically minded, though.

Comment by PJ Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 2:37 pm
So who exactly is going to risk being charged with a felony and/or deportation to vote for Emanuel?

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 3:01 pm
I did wonder why it was better to offer a city ID than to start an office that helps residents obtain a state ID.

Comment by NoGifts Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 3:29 pm
One step above your old Dominick’s Fresh Values card.

Comment by City Zen Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 3:29 pm
Identification for registration purposes is NOT intended to prove citizenship (the attestation of citizenship is the only thing required). The other acceptable forms are also fairly readily available to non-citizens.

Identification for mail in registration can be:

…If you do not have a driver’s license or social security number, and this form is submitted by mail, and you have never registered to vote in the jurisdiction you are now registering in, then you must send, with this application, either (i) a copy of a current and valid photo identification, or (ii) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter….

For in person registration, add these to the above:

…employee or student identification card, lease or contract for a residence, credit card, or a civic, union or professional association membership card…

Comment by titan Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 3:30 pm
If Ives thinks it’s a bad idea I’m for it.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 4:20 pm
This was a big to do on a Mt. Greenwood-focused Facebook page last week. Looks like the Ives talking points got out.

Comment by pawn Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 5:21 pm
I understand that there are severe repercussions for voter fraud but I have a difficult time believing that this will not result in many non-citizens casting votes.

First of all, these individuals have already broken our laws by either entering illegally or overstaying a visa so why should we trust that a) they won’t break our laws again? or b) that they actually fear legal repercussions in Sanctuary Cities. Secondly, this “Sanctuary State/City” stuff has gotten so out of hand that you have mayors warning criminal aliens of ICE raids. If mayors are going to those extremes to protect criminals from deportation it’s not unreasonable to assume they won’t be searching too hard for potential voter registration fraud unless of course it’s Nikolai Volkov or Ivan Drago that’s registering.

The bottom line is that the City Key/ID might be a great thing as far as city services go. Great. Use it for that. Keep it out of the voter registration and there won’t be any questions raised. Usually we are reactive and late to the party in closing policy loopholes and here’s a chance to be proactive and close a loophole that’s been prediscovered. Why not just do the sensible thing and close it now?

Comment by CrazyHorse Monday, Mar 5, 18 @ 5:33 pm
Crazy horse, should we also ban utility bills?

Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 6:52 am
Kind of a strange position for Ives to take since she’s a pawn of Mike Madigan. Just sayin…

Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 9:09 am