{"id":2283002,"date":"2024-06-25T07:01:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T11:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/californians-with-no-ssn-can-use-a-gym-membership-to-vote\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T07:07:49","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T11:07:49","slug":"californians-with-no-ssn-can-use-a-gym-membership-to-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/californians-with-no-ssn-can-use-a-gym-membership-to-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Californians With No SSN Can Use A Gym Membership To Vote"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornians-with-no-ssn-can-use-a-gym-membership-to-vote%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2283002&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In California, individuals without a\u200c government-issued\u200d ID such\u200d as a driver&#8217;s license or Social Security\u2063 number can still register and vote using alternative forms of identification. The state&#8217;s official online\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fridays-fun-fraud-fact-mysterious-spike-in-incomplete-nv-voter-registrations-13372-with-invalid-birthdates-and-casinos-and-temporary-rv-parks-as-a-home-address\/\" title=\"FRIDAY'S FUN FRAUD FACT: Mysterious Spike in Incomplete NV Voter Registrations - 13,372 with Invalid Birthdates and Casinos and Temporary RV Parks as a Home Address\">voter registration<\/a> site\u200c offers a choice for applicants who\u200c do not have such credentials to indicate their lack of formal ID. Instead, they \u2062can use\u2062 various other documents to verify their identity when voting for the first time. Acceptable \u200bforms of identification include items like credit cards, utility bills, gym memberships, or even student IDs and \u2063sample ballots.\u200d This system conforms with both state regulations and the federal Help America Vote\u2063 Act (HAVA), which mandates states to \u200cvalidate voter registrations against existing state\u2064 records. However, it&#8217;s important to note that these \u200cforms of \u200dID verify residency in California and not U.S. citizenship.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In California, voters with no government ID can still vote so long as they show a gym membership, credit card, utility bill, or other low-security identification.<\/p>\n<p>Individuals wishing to register to vote in California are prompted on the secretary of state\u2019s website to provide their driver\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/data-more-than-200000-people-on-north-carolina-voter-rolls-missing-id-numbers\/\" title=\"Over 200,000 North Carolina Voter IDs Missing\">license identification number<\/a> and\/or the last four digits of their Social Security number. But both sections give applicants the option to select a box indicating they lack that form of identification.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>If an applicant checks both boxes, he would later be prompted to provide other identification, the California secretary of state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-county-cant-find-chain-of-custody-records-for-absentee-ballots-exist-geller-report-news\/\" title=\"Georgia County Can't Find Chain of Custody Records for Absentee Ballots Exist\">office told<\/a> The Federalist. Upon further inquiry, an office representative said individuals could provide proof of identity by showing items such as a credit card, a utility bill, or their gym membership.<\/p>\n<p>When I called back for additional clarification, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utah-axes-gun-permit-requirement\/\" title=\"Utah Axes Gun-Permit Requirement\u00a0\">woman told<\/a> me she had been informed not to speak to the press, and gave me an email address to try.<\/p>\n<p>In response to my email, the secretary of state\u2019s press office affirmed that if \u201can applicant cannot be validated [using his driver\u2019s license number or SSN], they are required to show ID at the polls the first time they vote.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The email directed me to a <a href=\"https:\/\/elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov\/regulations\/hava_id_regs_from_barclays_3_3_06.pdf\">state statute<\/a> that lists acceptable documents with which voters who have no SSN or driver\u2019s license may prove their identity. The list includes a \u201chealth club identification card\u201d or other \u201cidentification card provided by a commercial establishment,\u201d a credit or debit card, student ID, a bank statement, a utility bill, an insurance card, or even a sample ballot, among other options.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are documents that can be used to verify California residence identity, not citizenship,\u201d the office noted, attaching a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.ca.gov\/administration\/regulations\/current-regulations\/elections\/help-america-vote-act-identification-standards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">link<\/a> to the California statute that specifies what documents can be accepted if a voter can\u2019t provide the SSN or driver\u2019s license number required by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/open\/havv\/#havv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Help America Vote Act<\/a> (HAVA).<\/p>\n<p>HAVA requires states to check information about people registering to vote in federal elections against each individual\u2019s information that is stored in the state\u2019s Department of Motor Vehicles database. If an individual lacks a driver\u2019s license, then another system is designed to verify the voter\u2019s information against Social Security records. (Notably, neither an SSN nor a driver\u2019s license confirms citizenship since foreign nationals can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/pubs\/EN-05-10096.pdf\">obtain<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/immigration.procon.org\/states-and-dc-that-allow-drivers-licenses-for-people-in-the-country-illegally\/\">either<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>[READNEXT:[READNEXT:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/06\/19\/bidens-amnesty-plan-could-turn-500000-illegal-aliens-into-future-voters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Biden\u2019s \u2018Amnesty\u2019 Plan Could Turn 500,000 Illegal Aliens Into Future Voters<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation\u2019s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies Hans Von Spakovsky told The Federalist that the policy is \u201cabsurd.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAllowing a gym membership is ridiculous,\u201d Spakovsky told The Federalist. \u201cI can create a gym membership card on my laptop using Microsoft Word. In fact, that\u2019s the whole reason states require a government-issued photo ID for all kinds of things, including getting a marriage license in most places or cashing a check or [to] buy alcohol. The idea that you would use a gym membership to prove ID is just absurd. That does absolutely nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The DMV records verification required by HAVA can prevent voter fraud in ways that flashing a gym card can\u2019t. Spakovsky <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/election-integrity\/report\/misreading-the-national-voter-registration-act-preventing-states-using\">explained<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>There is a national DMV association made up of state DMVs and they have a computer system network that allows them to share data. The whole point of it is that, almost every state has a law that says \u2018If you move into our state and become a resident, you have to turn in your license from the other state and get a license through our state.\u2019 And through that system, states notify the prior state so that the other license can be terminated since the individual now has a new license.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Once a prior license is terminated, the prior state can also cancel the individual\u2019s voter registration associated with that license. In contrast, gym cards, or non-photo IDs like utility bills, don\u2019t tell election officials anything about whether that voter is already registered to vote in another state.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In California, voters lacking government ID can vote using a gym membership, credit card, utility bill, or similar ID. To register, the state\u2019s website requires a driver\u2019s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2283003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/I_Voted_-_3002776434-e1719252089441.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[18517,32569,10577,32568,32570],"class_list":["post-2283002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-californians","tag-gym-membership","tag-registration","tag-ssn","tag-voting-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/I_Voted_-_3002776434-e1719252089441.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2283002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2283003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2283002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2283002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2283002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}