Ballot Question 4

There are ballot questions awaiting Massachusetts voters in the general election on 8 November. Ballot questions are laws submitted directly to voters for approval, or disapproval, alongside the regular slate of candidates. 

Voters will discover four different questions on their ballot:

• Question 1: Millionaire’s Tax

• Question 2: Regulation of Dental Insurance

• Question 3: Expanding Alcohol License Availability

• Question 4: Driver’s License for Undocumented Immigrants

Question 4: Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants

Should undocumented immigrants be allowed to obtain driver’s licenses in Massachusetts? This is a ballot question guaranteed to get the voters butting heads because it invites hot takes on immigration policy. The wisest course of action is to consider the proposed law on its merits rather than treating it as a broader referendum on immigration laws. If such a thing is possible…

Important to note: Question 4 asks voters if they want to keep or overturn a new law already on the books that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. Why are we being asked to vote on a law that’s already passed? The law was passed; then vetoed by Gov. Charlie Baker; then the veto was overturned; then a group called Fair and Secure Massachusetts successfully got a question on the ballot seeking to repeal the law. Got all that?

The Globe and WBUR have reported on the confusing series of events and language of the bill.

In short, vote as follows:

• Vote YES: if you DO WANT to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses

• Vote NO: if you DO NOT WANT to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses

The Secretary of State’s office summarizes the proposed amendment as follows:

This law allows Massachusetts residents who cannot provide proof of lawful presence in the United States to obtain a standard driver’s license or learner’s permit if they meet all the other qualifications for a standard license or learner’s permit, including a road test and insurance, and provide proof of their identity, date of birth, and residency…

FOR

Franklin Soults

Yes on 4 for Safer Roads

A YES vote will keep in place a law that allows all drivers in Massachusetts to be properly vetted for licenses (by providing proof of identity, date of birth, and residency), pass required tests and buy insurance, regardless of immigration status.

A YES vote means safer roads and better tools for law enforcement to do their jobs. In 17 states with similar laws, passage led to declines in uninsured drivers and hit-and-run crashes. That’s why this measure is endorsed by over 60 law enforcement officials statewide—including most sheriffs, district attorneys, and all 42 police chiefs in the Massachusetts Major Cities Chief of Police Association.

Voting YES helps families and workers by ensuring they can drive legally to school and work. It makes sense for all of us.

That is what Massachusetts law provides and a YES vote will keep in place.

HDN Comments:

The thinking goes as follows: “Undocumented immigrants are going to drive anyway. Might as well make sure they are insured and can pass a driver’s test if they’re going to be on the road.” It’s a nice add to the argument that it’s supported by a deep pool of state law enforcement.

AGAINST

John Milligan

Fair and Secure Massachusetts

In his veto message of this bill, Governor Charlie Baker made it known that the Registry of Motor Vehicles does not have the capability or expertise necessary to verify documents from other countries and notes that, if this bill becomes law, Massachusetts drivers’ licenses will no longer confirm that a person is who they say they are.

Additionally, Governor Baker states the bill specifically restricts the Registry’s ability to share citizenship information with entities responsible for ensuring only citizens register to vote and vote in our elections, significantly increasing the likelihood that noncitizens will register to vote.

This bill is patently unfair to those who have taken the time to immigrate to our great country via legal means and significantly diminishes the public safety of all residents of the Commonwealth.

We urge a no vote on this issue.

HDN Comments:

The AGAINST side points out that the RMV will bear a heavier burden in terms of sorting through a wider variety of credentials to determine eligibility for a driver's license. Without additional resources and training, the heavier burden could result in licensing logjams (if the RMV is being tough) or inadequate scrutiny (if the RMV plays it easy), or some willy nilly mixture of both.

The additional argument that licensing undocumented immigrants will allow noncitizens to vote feeds into larger anxieties about immigration. But the argument is neither supported nor informed by a clear understanding of how voter registration works in Massachusetts.

Verdict: Vote Yes on Question 4

The matter boils down to a safety issue. Do you want to share the road with drivers who have been vetted for insurance and knowing the rules of the road, or not? Sure, insurance companies have hopped aboard (a whole new demo to sell insurance to!) for self-interested reasons. But unions are also on board, understanding that average workers, citizens and noncitizens alike, will benefit from safer roads and a policy approach that will bring unvetted drivers into the light of day. Law enforcement is on board. We’ll find out on 8 November whether the citizens of Massachusetts are on board.

The arguments for voting no on Question 4 rest on unfounded and incorrect presuppositions about how voter registration works in Massachusetts, distorting the facts of the matter in a calculated attempt to make this a principled referendum on federal immigration policy. It’s not. If you’re hankering for more butting of heads, check out this WBUR debate on the issue (fast forwarded to the head butting about voter registration).

Stay tuned for more analysis on the remaining ballot questions…

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