Editorial: There are good aguments for Real ID; alleged shooter’s status isn’t one
Published 1:30 am Sunday, October 2, 2016
By The Herald Editorial Board
With elections on people’s minds, it’s appropriate for Washington’s Secretary of State Kim Wyman to again request the Legislature during its 2017 session to pass the Real ID act, providing increased security and confidence in state driver’s licenses and identification cards.
What was unfortunate — and at least premature — was Wyman’s decision to make her case by referencing the Sept. 23 mass shooting at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, which left five dead, four of them with ties to Snohomish County.
Wyman and county election leaders from across the state met in Spokane last week to ask that the state adopt the requirements of the federal Real ID Act, passed in 2005. Adopted or in the process of adoption in 47 other states, the act requires states to tighten standards for driver’s licenses, requiring applicants to provide a Social Security number and prove their citizenship or provide their immigration status. The licenses and ID cards would also contain a chip or other technology that would record that information and could be read by a computer to confirm identity.
Wyman and the election officials want the updated driver’s licenses to ensure that the state’s voters rolls contain the names only of eligible voters by collecting that information up front when they apply for a driver’s license or ID card.
It would also clear the way for Washington to set up automatic voter registration, registering voters when they apply or renew driver’s licenses. (Those applying could opt out of registering to vote if they choose.)
Not complying with the federal act would result in major inconveniences for Washington residents. Unless the state meets a federal deadline of Jan. 22, 2018, Washington residents would be barred from domestic flights and from military bases unless they could produce a second piece of identification that showed their citizenship or immigration status, such as a passport. In the interim, the state has provided for an enhanced license and ID that meets the requirements but at an additional cost.
Wyman, in arguing for Real ID, called into question the citizenship of the man now charged with murder in the mall shooting, Arcan Cetin, 20, of Oak Harbor. Cetin had registered to vote in 2014 and had voted in general elections in 2014, 2015 and in the 2016 presidential primary. But Wyman said “questions had been raised” about Cetin’s citizenship, with early news reports identifying him as a legal permanent resident who emigrated from his native Turkey as a child.
Real ID would have allowed election officials to confirm his status, Wyman said, outlining the need for the law.
At best, Cetin’s immigration status or citizenship is unclear. Federal officials told the Associated Press on Friday that they would not comment on Cetin’s status, but at least one media outlet, KING-TV, reported the same day that a federal official it had spoken with had confirmed Cetin’s citizenship, which would mean he voted legally.
Real ID offers benefits for airline security and a path to registering almost all of those who are eligible to vote.
And as we’ve pointed out previously, Real ID offers an advantage over the use of Social Security card numbers as the de facto national identification number. With Real ID, perhaps we could end the reliance of Social Security numbers for things other than Social Security, which too often has led to identity theft.
Wyman, in a news release, admits that Cetin’s alleged fraudulent voting pales in comparison to the tragedy in Burlington, but said it raises concerns about the state’s inability to confirm the citizenship of voters.
Perhaps, but Cetin’s uncertain status now diverts attention from the valid points that she and others are making.
