15 September—The U.S. Constitution doesn’t directly state that a voter in federal elections must be a citizen, but it’s implicit in several articles and amendments. And it’s been confirmed and amplified by legislation and Supreme Court ruling. We accept it because it makes sense and is perfectly reasonable. And a non-citizen risks fine and imprisonment for falsely claiming to be a citizen in order to register to vote anyway.

On the other hand, nothing in the Constitution or federal law requires a person registering to vote—not every time he votes, mind you, just when he registers—to provide actual documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC), such as a birth certificate or passport. It’s one of the details the Constitution and Congress couldn’t be bothered with.

So wouldn’t it make sense to bother with it now? Finally? Don’t be silly. Republicans certainly are pushing DPOC as part of their Trumped-up crusade against voter fraud, which everybody knows is nowhere near as serious—at least on a national level—as their mendacious messiah and they make it out to be.

Democrats, on the other hand, insist that thanks to modern technology and communication coupled with the penalty for lying about citizenship, DPOC simply isn’t necessary. They also worry that some potential Democrat voters who really are citizens won’t be able to produce DPOC. (Perish the thought that Democrats would even think of having non-citizens falsely claim to be citizens for any reason—any more than Republicans would consider it.)

One word for anti-DPOC Democrats: Tough. First, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We just don’t know how many non-citizens falsely claim to be citizens in order to vote or for other reasons. So why not proactively eliminate the possibility and temptation?

Second, it behooves everyone to have ready access to vital documents like birth certificates, naturalization papers, and passports. And there are remedies for occasions when that may not be possible.

So Congressional Republicans are doing the right thing (this time) in pushing for documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration—even if their motivation may be open to question . . .