Oregon Voter Bill Draws Fire from Labor, Hispanic Groups

SALEM, Ore. (By Brad Cain, AP) June 18, 2005 — Oregon's largest Hispanic group, labor activists and state election officials are opposing a Republican-backed plan to require people registering to vote for the first time to show proof of citizenship, a proposal that one key backer said was made necessary by the terrorist attacks of September 2001.

The measure recently was approved by the Oregon House after sponsors said the requirement would help prevent illegal immigrants from fraudulently registering and voting.

"In part, it's a response to the post-Sept. 11 world we live in," said state Rep. Linda Flores, a Republican from Clackamas. "Citizens want us do everything we can to preserve their rights and to secure our borders."

The bill is directed at people who are in the country illegally and also to protect the integrity of Oregon's election process, she said.

Her comments drew a heated response from Ramon Ramirez, a leading Hispanic rights activist. He regards the bill as immigrant bashing and said it is being promoted by people trying to create "homeland security hysteria."

Ramirez and other opponents hope to kill the measure in the Democrat-controlled Senate. They argue there's little or no evidence that such fraud is occurring and that the bill would create needless barriers to voting.

"In all my life, I have never seen any undocumented person who tried to vote," said Ramirez, who is president of Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United, also known by its Spanish acronym PCUN.

The Oregon bill mirrors a similar law in Arizona, where undocumented immigrants have become a hot political issue.

In January, Arizona became the first state to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Voters passed that law, which supporters said is needed to prevent voter fraud. Other states have debated similar measures as well, but Arizona is the only state so far to enact such a law.

Under the bill passed by the Oregon House, first-time registrants would be required to produce evidence of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, naturalization papers or a passport.

A leading supporter of the measure, Jim Ludwick of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, said the potential for abuse is large.

The latest estimate is that as many as 150,000 illegal immigrants are living in Oregon, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, although Ludwick believes the number is higher than that.

"It's beyond the pale to think that no illegal aliens are voting," Ludwick said.

Still, state Elections Director John Lindback said that the state has received no complaints about illegal immigrants attempting to register to vote.

Any undocumented alien who tried to do that would face "tremendous" consequences — including a maximum five-year jail term as well as deportation, Lindback said.

The state elections chief also said he was dismayed by the proposal because, before the majority Republicans approved it, they defeated a Democrat-backed substitute that would have prohibited paying by the signature for signing up new voters.

Lindback said the state currently is investigating allegations that some signature gatherers last year may have been paid to turn in cards for voters registering as Republicans while throwing away the cards of those who registered in other parties.

"It is disturbing that these issues about where real fraud has occurred have picked up a partisan flavor," he said.

The GOP's voter registration bill is being opposed by the Oregon AFL-CIO on grounds that it would discourage voting by putting unnecessary burdens on citizens who might have problems locating birth records or other documents.

"This is about voter suppression," said Patty Wentz, spokeswoman for the labor federation. "It just makes it more difficult for people to register to vote. Who carries their birth certificate around with them?"

The bill currently is pending in the Senate Rules Committee. The panel's chairwoman, Sen. Kate Brown, said she hasn't decided whether to schedule the bill for a hearing.

Brown said she's not convinced there's a need for the proof of citizenship requirement.

"I don't see a problem out there" with undocumented aliens attempting to register, the Portland Democrat said. "We're clean and fraud-free in our elections, and this seems like it's a solution in search of a problem."

Flores said she would push for Senate action on the bill and that she's not swayed by state election official who say there is no evidence of a problem.

The Republican lawmaker also rejected criticism that the bill amounts to immigrant bashing.

"We're not trying to strip anyone of their voting rights," she said. "We just want to protect the rights of people who are entitled to vote."