So far, we have explained why the Proof of Citizenship Initiative disenfranchises thousands of legal voters, makes our elections less secure and violates several federal laws. The good news is that there are other options that reduce the risk of non-citizens voting while still protecting the rights of all legal voters. There are major problems with Election Integrity in Washington state. However, these problems can be addressed without requiring two million legal voters to track down and submit their birth certificates. In this article, we will review some of these less intrusive and more secure options.
Here are 10 other options that reduce registering non-citizens in a non-invasive way.
#1: In 2023, Ohio passed HB 458 requiring IDs and licenses issued to noncitizens must have a notation designating that they are a noncitizen.
#2: North Dakota driver's licenses and state-issued ID cards with "Temporary" or "Permanent" listed on them cannot be used for voting.
#3: Tennessee requires Drivers Licenses issued to noncitizens to include a visually distinctive marker indicating the License cannot be used for voting.
#4: Per SB 32, effective Jan. 1, 2026, Wyoming will require licenses issued to residents who are not U.S. citizens to state "Not a U.S. Citizen".
#5: In 2025, South Dakota passed SB 75 requiring an indication of citizenship status on driver licenses and ID cards.
#6: Effective Jan. 1, 2026, Montana will require licenses issued to U.S. citizens to have an eagle signifying their status as US citizens.
#7 Ohio SB 63 (2015) requires the secretary of state to conduct an annual review of the statewide voter registration database, including a comparison of information with the bureau of motor vehicles to identify a person who submits documentation to the bureau of motor vehicles indicating the person is not a U.S. citizen.
#8 Oklahoma SB 1040 (2023) specifies that voter registration services may not be offered to a person who provides documentation when applying for a driver's license or state ID card that shows the person is not a U.S. citizen.
#9 Rhode Island RI SB 770 (2017) established automatic voter registration and specified that the DMV is to not provide a voter registration application to anyone who has not certified they are a US citizen.
#10 In Washington state, on March 4, 2025, Jim Walsh introduced House Joint Memorial 4007 calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to audit and review the accuracy of Washington’s “implementation of the ‘Motor Voter Law. The Joint Memorial asked the Department of Justice to focus on “possible violations of the United States Constitution, the United States Code, the Washington Constitution or the Revised Code of Washington… RCW 29A.08.355, hereafter referred to as the "Motor Voter Law," involves the automatic registration of people to vote in elections in Washington with no determination of whether those people are, in fact, legal voters, which risks diluting legal Washington voters' voice in state law, policy, and government actions.”
Wyoming House Bill 156 litigation
As noted above, Wyoming requires drivers licenses issued to residents who are not U.S. citizens to state "Not a U.S. Citizen". On March 21, 2025, Wyoming passed House Bill 156 which clarified voter registration requirements in Wyoming. The law clarifies that:
"Proof of residence" means the documents or other proof of residence specified by rule of the secretary of state, which rule identifies documents or other proof that establishes residency. If a person does not have the documents or other proof of residency specified by rule of the secretary of state, "proof of residence" may be established by a signed attestation of the person that the person is a bona fide resident of the state of Wyoming. The attestation shall be subject to verification by the county clerk or the secretary of state;
"Proof of United States citizenship" means, for purposes of voter registration, any of the following:
(A) A valid Wyoming driver's license as defined by W.S. 31‑7‑102(a)(xxv) or a valid Wyoming identification card issued under W.S. 31‑8‑101, provided that the license or identification card does not contain any indication that the person is not a United States citizen;”
This law appears to comply with NVRA and HAVA. However, the law was immediately challenged in federal court. On July 22, 2025, the federal court issued a decision which can be read at this link:
https://wyofile.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/7_22_25-case-dismissed.pdf
Proponents of the Trump Executive Order and proponents of the Washington Proof of Citizenship Initiative have claimed that this federal court ruling was a victory for Documented Proof of Citizenship (DPOC). But it was not. The judge merely ruled that the group bringing the complaint lacked standing because they did not actually represent any voters in Wyoming. Thus, the court did not make any ruling on the merits of their argument.
But even if the group did have standing and even if the court did rule in favor of the new Wyoming law, it would not apply to either the Trump Executive order or the Washington Proof of Citizenship Initiative as both go much farther than the new Wyoming law – which still accepts an Oath.
There is at least one Federal Alternative to a Mass Citizenship Verification Initiative
2025 Congress SAVE Act: In 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, but it did not pass Congress and was reintroduced for this legislative session. On April 10, 2025 the bill passed the House, and it now awaits further judgment in the Senate. However, it does not appear that the bill will be even considered by the Senate as it has not even been assigned to a committee. The SAVE ACT is a Voter ID bill nearly identical to the Washington Voter ID Initiative. Therefore, if it ever did pass, the Washington Voter ID Initiative would become irrelevant. On the other hand, if the SAVE Act does not pas, then it is highly likely that federal courts, including the US Supreme Court, would rule that the Washington Voter ID Initiative violates NVRA and/or HAVA and/or the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.
A better option is to address the real problem with an Initiative to amend other Washington Drivers License laws.
Rather than placing additional burdens on millions of actual Washington citizens to prove they are citizens, the burden should be placed where it belongs - on Washington state officials to stop automatically registering non-citizens to vote when they get a Drivers License.
Here is the real problem: “Washington residents may obtain a standard driver’s license or identicard (a state-issued identification card) without providing proof of citizenship. See Wash. Rev. Code § 46.20.035.”
This statement, taken from Nick Brown’s complaint against the Trump Executive Order, is true – but only because this law was amended in 2024 by House Bill 2099 to add two options that do not require providing proof of citizenship. See options (g) and (h) here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=46.20.035
Option (g) provides ID cards to incarcerated persons with no check for citizenship per RCW 72.09.535
Option (h) provides ID cards to hospitalized patients with no check for citizenship per RCW 72.23.175
Closing these loopholes would return to the case that a normal Washington Drivers License would provide proof of citizenship.
In his complaint against Trump, Nick Brown also stated: “This license “may not be used as evidence of or as a basis to infer an individual’s citizenship or immigration status for any purpose.” Wash. Rev. Code § 46.20.1921(1).”
This RCW does not refer to a normal Washington Drivers License. Instead it refers to a REAL ID or Enhanced License! Shockingly, this statement by Nick Brown is true. This crazy law was passed in 2017 as Senate Bill 5008. It is essential to understand that under HAVA, either a normal Drivers License or Social Security card is accepted as Documented Proof of Citizenship and must be accepted as Proof of Citizenship. This badly written law (Wash. Rev. Code § 46.20.1921(1) means that if and when a Washington driver converts their license to an Enhanced License, they are giving up the very document that is their documented Proof of Citizenship – the opposite of what is intended by getting an Enhanced Drivers License.
While this problem is partially addressed by RCW 46.20.156, this law only creates more confusion. There should be no distinction between a normal Washington Drivers License and an Enhanced License for voter registration or proof of citizenship. Instead, there should be a special Non-citizen license for people who are not citizens.
Which brings us to another RCW that need to be amended. RCW 46.20.021 allows New Residents to get a Washington Drivers License without proof of citizenship. This must be amended so that there are two kinds of normal licenses and that if a person does not provide proof of citizenship (for example when getting food stamps) that they be issued a license or ID card that is labeled NO PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP PROVIDED. The same is true of RCW 46.20.036
The most important law that must be amended (by way of Initiative) is RCW 46.20.155. This law (the Automatic Voter Registration Law) violates federal law because it merely asks the applicant if they are a US citizen. Federal law requires a checkbox and an OATH of Affirmation under penalty of perjury, fine and imprisonment. This RCW is also contrary to RCW 46.20.035 which does Proof of Identity – but allows minors to proof their Identity by being accompanied by their parent who proves their citizenship by providing their drivers license.
Here are the Washington laws amended by the Voters ID Initiative to require that all Washington citizens must obtain a REAL ID card (also known as an Enhanced Drivers License) :
RCW 29A.08.010, 29A.08.123, 29A.08.210, and 29A.08.350
Here are the Washington laws that would need to be amended to directly require non-citizens to obtain a special Non-citizen Washington drivers license that could not be used to register to vote:
RWC 46.20.035, 46.20.1921(1), 46.20.156, 46.20.021, 46.20.036, and 46.20.155.
While the Voter ID Initiative violates federal law and requires millions of legal Washington voters to remain on the voter rolls, an Initiative to require a special Non-citizen Drivers license for people who are not citizens would comply with federal law and would not require any additional steps of existing legal Washington voters.
Huge differences between Washington State Proof of Identity laws and Washington Department of Licensing practices
If an Initiative to comply with federal law is considered, or if a request is filed to have the US Department of Justice issue a warning letter to Washington state for failure to comply with federal law, it is important to also address the fact that the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) is using Proof of Identity options that are not authorized even by the currently illegal and poorly written Washington state laws. Here is a link to the Washington DOL 2 page brochure called “Identity Requirements.”
This brochure is passed out to the public and contains numerous ways to prove identity that are not found in Washington laws. There are Stand Alone, A List and B List options and more options not on either list. These options go far beyond the options found in RCW 46.20.035
Do an online search for “Revised Code of Washington Identity requirements.” You will see there are no A or B lists in Washington voter registration laws. Nor are these “Stand Alone, A List and B list options to be found in federal laws. Below is an image of the current Washington Identity Requirements brochure.
Thus, merely amending Washington laws is not enough. We also need to demand that actual DOL practices comply with state and federal laws.
What’s Next?
So far, we have explained why the Proof of Citizenship Initiative disenfranchises thousands of legal voters, makes our elections less secure and violates several federal laws. We have also shown that there are several other options that reduce the risk of non-citizens voting while still protecting the rights of all legal voters. Sadly, proponents of the Proof of Citizenship Initiative have made several false claims about the Initiative that might mislead the voters. We will therefore address some of these false claims in our next article.