Legislation requiring Washington state residents to prove U.S. citizenship or legal residency to get state driver's licenses so elections officials can ensure non-citizens are not trying to register to vote was proposed Friday by Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman.
The issue has come up in previous legislative sessions, but lawmakers have been unsuccessful in passing legislation.
On Friday, Wyman pointed to questions that have been raised about the citizenship of Arcan Cetin, who is charged with five counts of pre-meditated murder following the shooting deaths of five people at Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, last week. Wyman said Cetin, who registered to vote in 2014, voted in three elections.
Federal officials told The Associated Press this week they wouldn't comment publicly on the immigration status of Cetin, who emigrated from Turkey as a young boy.
Wyman wrote that the questions about his citizenship "shined a bright light on the fact that under current state law, as election administrators, we are not able to confirm the citizenship of any registered voter."
Washington state is currently not in compliance with a 2005 federal law — known as REAL ID — that requires state driver's licenses and ID cards to have security enhancements and be issued to people who can prove they're legally in the United States. Washington is the only state in the country that does not require proof of legal presence in the U.S. to get a standard state driver's license or ID and there is currently no way for elections officials to verify citizenship.
However, the state does offer, voluntarily and at an extra cost, enhanced driver's licenses and IDs that require proof of U.S. citizenship and are valid under the federal law.