I think it still depends on the state and how thorough its department of motor vehicles is or how prudent the clerk is.

For instance, I had a friend in Michigan who was a citizen of another country but working legally with me. I took him to the Michigan Secrtetary of State office (in MI, it's these offices that do the drivers and vehicles). To get his license, he did not have to prove his citizenship and the clerk asked him if he needed to register to vote. He was honest and said no becasue he is not a citizen. Another time in MI, a colleague from another country and in 2000, decided to see if he could "get away" with registering to vote in MI. He did, and he, a Swiss, voted in our 2000 election. He thought he was funny and was proud of his story . Personally, I thought he was an ass. But, it appears that once you get in the voter system as a citizen (like me), you don't get asked to prove it again for years and years and years...........

And, curiously enough, a Polish colleague of mine and I were just speaking of this yesterday. When she got her DL in Maryland, she actually had to prove her legal status (show visas etc.) and she did not get asked to register. Perhaps her clerk was more prudent, perhaps Maryland is more prudent. But, this stystem is too porous and has the potential to permit non-citizens to register to vote. Again, the reason I get cranky about licenses for illegals, unless they overhaul the voter registration processes in states.

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I am an American. That's the way most of us put it, just matter of factly. They are plain words, those four: you could write them on your thumbnail, or sweep them clear across this bright autumn sky. But remember too, that they are more than just words. They are a way of life. So whenever you speak them, speak them firmly, speak them proudly, speak them gratefully. I am an American. ...a tradition

Too bad nobody reported him, then he'd see how funny deportation is. That being said, I guess we have to wait till 2010 for this mess to get fixed with the new ID crap. Though it seems to me, what you really need is a very simple policy. You don't have a certified birth certificate, you don't get to vote. That simple.

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I don't pretend to know everything, educate me, and I'll try to educate you. Shouting matches and insults aren't going to convince me.

After this, guess who did report him? I had no problem with it because he had acted like such an ass and was proud of his "getting away" with it. I reported him to the INS in Detroit (that was just before it was made into an ICE office). I don't know what they did, but he was gone from our group a few weeks later. And I don't know if he knew his problems (I assume only he had problems...his roommate had said he received a letter from INS then was gone a day later) were due to me reporting or not...I want him to continue to shoot his mouth off in hopes that if he tries it again and shoots his mouth off about it, another will report him.

Because of this, my other foreign friend who had been honest about his citizenship at the MI Secretary of State told me I should start wearing brown shirts (in reference to Nazi youth). He was kidding, but I think he was a bit concerned about it, too (he grew up communist so past conditioning may have been the source of his concern).

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I am an American. That's the way most of us put it, just matter of factly. They are plain words, those four: you could write them on your thumbnail, or sweep them clear across this bright autumn sky. But remember too, that they are more than just words. They are a way of life. So whenever you speak them, speak them firmly, speak them proudly, speak them gratefully. I am an American. ...a tradition