The bill provides numcrous provisions. including tough penalties. against voter fraud. In addition. motorvoter has been working successfully in 12 States and the District of Columbia. without any increase in fraud. Much discussion has been waged about the prospects of noncitizens voting as a result of the reforms contained in this legislation. We studied this issue in the context of the extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 last year and concluded that the issue of noncitizens voting is an exaggerated one. Clearly. any illegal voting by an Ineligible individual hurts the political process. Nonetheless. the reforms contained in this bill in no way encourage noncitizen voting. In fact. many local officials have reported that the motorvoter system. since it involves the photographing and fingerprinting of prospective drivers. makes it unlikely that someone who is illegally in this country to come forward to register and vote. It is equally unlikely that a permanent resident would jeopardize his or her chances for citizenship simply to cast a vote at an eletion.
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