LETTER: Concerns over automatic voter registration at the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles

In his March 10 letter to the Review-Journal, Earl Malkin questions why automatic voter registration should be allowed at the DMV when his wife, a citizen, was unable to obtain the new type of driver’s license. First, had she arrived with the required documents, as my wife and I did, she would have had no problem getting the new type of license. Second, my experience is that voter registration is on an honor system.

Since 1962, I have registered to vote in five different states, in one of them three different times. Not once have I had to show more than my place of residence when registering to vote. Presumably this was so they would record me in the correct precinct for local elections.

Being curious, I recently checked voter registration requirements in the Nevada statutes. What I found was that proof of citizenship is not required for voter registration. In fact, there is a law against requiring a naturalized citizen being required to show proof of citizenship.

This being the case, why should Mr. Malkin be concerned whether the DMV, considering his wife’s problem, “will do the same to protect our voting rights”?