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Driver's license applicants in North Carolina would have to prove that they are either a U.S. citizen or that they are in the country legally under bills filed in the General Assembly. "It's been known for a long time that it's too easy to get a driver's license in North Carolina," said Rep. Cary Allred, R-Alamance, who along with Rep. Nelson Cole, D-Rockingham, sponsored the bill in the House. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Clark Jenkins, D-Edgecombe. State law now requires two forms of identification to get a license or learner's permit but does not require proof of citizenship or immigration status. The two documents must prove identity and establish residency. Allred said that the driver's license office in Graham has become known as the easiest place in the nation to obtain a license. The Alamance County Sheriff's office has made arrests at the local Division of Motor Vehicles office and charged people with obtaining a license with false documents. Some advocates for Hispanic residents, however, say that making obtaining a driver's license more difficult could lead to the highways being less safe. Angel Romero, director of Centro la Comunidad in Burlington, said politicians need to come to grips with reality. "The reality is that businesses in Alamance County are hiring many immigrants, documented or not documented," he said. "If these folks are living here and driving to work and driving to buy groceries, in order to do that, they need a driver's license." If they aren't able to obtain a driver's license, then they won't be able to get insurance on their cars, he said. And they also won't have to take the driving and written tests required to get a license. [more]

ARIZONA: HASSLE? DID AZ VOTERS FOLLOW THE IRAQ VOTE? By endorsing Prop. 200, AZ voters might have "unwittingly put the stamp of approval on a growing Election Day trend: mail voting." Prop. 200, "the anti-illegal-immigration initiative," passed into law on 11/04 and requires AZ's 2.7M "voters to show proof of identity to cast a ballot." Pima Co. Recorder Ann Rodriguez "expects more voters to rely on the U.S. Postal Service rather than deal with the bother of making sure they have proper" ID at the polls. Rodriguez: "People will not want the hassle" (Karamargin, Arizona Daily Star, 2/3). The Hotline February 4, 2005