Two immigrants who are not citizens — and thus not eligible to vote — have accused a Nevada Culinary Union of registering them to vote and then threatening them with deportation if they did not go to the polls. Even worse, the immigrants say there are more like them who are illicitly registered and may be casting ballots in one of the most critical swing states in the 2012 election due to Nevada’s lax voter identification laws that do not require voters to provide photo IDs or prove citizenship.
Glenn Cook, of the Las Vegas Review Journal, met with two immigrants who said Culinary Local 226 signed them up to vote. The immigrants told Cook “the Culinary official who registered them to vote didn’t tell them what they were signing and didn’t ask whether they were citizens” and “they trusted that the union official’s request was routine, thought nothing of it and went about their work.”
Once registered, these immigrants can vote because of Nevada’s rather lax identification requirements.
As Cook notes:
In Nevada you never have to prove you’re a citizen to register to vote or cast a ballot. Forget about showing government-issued photo identification at the polls, as several states now require. You don’t have to show a photo ID at any point in the process. The immigrants I met could vote Tuesday just by showing a Culinary health insurance card and a power bill.
Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax told Cook all voters would need are documents proving identity and residence.
[…]
