IMMIGRATION RALLY

Members and supporters of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice gather to stand vigil on the steps of the Alabama State House during the governor's State of the State address Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, in Montgomery, Ala. Alabama Secretary of State Jim Bennett has said he will try to implement one of the last remaining pieces of the state's controversial and largely blocked immigration law, a provision requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. (Julie Bennett / jbennett@al.com)

Secretary of State Jim Bennett ... presses forward with proof-of-citizenship requirement.

One of Alabama Secretary of State Jim Bennett's last acts will be to try to implement one of the last provisions of the state's controversial immigration law that has not already been resolved - a requirement that voters show proof of citizenship to register.

Under that provision of the 2011 law, known as HB 56, people must show a driver's license or some other valid form of identification in order to register to vote. But the state never implemented it while lawyers fought over the legality of the law's broader measures, which sought to crack down on illegal immigration.

The federal courts invalidated most of that law, and the state last year reached a permanent settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, agreeing to permanently black enforcement of seven provisions. Bennett announced last week, though, that the state will press ahead with the citizenship requirement now that the U.S. Senate has confirmed nominees to fill long-vacant seats on the Election Assistance Commission. That is the organization that must agree to change the federal voter registration form to comply with the state requirements.

Under the law, birth certificates, Star Alabama driver's license or nondriver ID cards, passports, naturalization documents or other documents showing U.S. citizenship would be acceptable.

"There are different approaches we can take depending on the response we receive from the EAC," he said in the statement. "Alabama is a sovereign state and our Legislature has determined that in the future, people registering to vote must prove that they are, indeed, U.S. citizens."

Critics predicted that the state's effort will fail.

"What the secretary of state is trying to do is part and parcel of a larger effort by the Republican Party to suppress minority voting. And it will not be successful," said Richard Cohen, president of the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center. "I think it's nothing more than a political stunt. And I think the whole thing's tainted by its association with HB 56."

The law is similar to ones in Kansas and Arizona, which took the federal government to court over its refusal to change the voter registration form to reflect the proof-of-citizenship requirement.

But the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the federal government was not required to change the voter registration instructions in those states because they had not shown that the instructions were necessary to prevent noncitizens from registering to vote.

Bennett noted that the ruling is not binding on Alabama, which is under the jurisdiction of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"I hope that the U.S. Supreme Court will reverse the decision of the 10th Circuit," he stated. "Noncitizens should not be allowed to vote in any election. It makes little sense to allow noncitizens to vote and influence national and state public policy and decide who will become the decision makers. I guess they could vote in their own countries as well, kind of like global voters."

Cohen said the "global voters" remark was flippant. He said there is no evidence that noncitizens have attempted to register to vote in U.S. elections. Doing so would require them to swear under penalty of perjury, Cohen said, and could expose them to criminal penalties and deportation.

At the same time, Cohen added, such a requirement would disenfranchise thousands of minorities, senior citizens, disabled residents and others who do not have driver's licenses or other forms of ID.

"Mr. Bennett is trying to solve an illusory problem that will hurt many, many voters," he said.

In Alabama and across the country, lawmakers and activists have clashed over two competing principles of fair elections - the right of every citizen to vote and the integrity of the electoral process. Those who are more concerned about the latter have pushed for laws to strengthen safeguards against fraud. Those who favor the former have argued that those very safeguards make it harder to vote and that there is little to evidence of fraud.

Combatants have argued with one another over both points. Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan arm of the legislative branch, concluded that laws in Kansas and Tennessee requiring voters to show IDs at the polls reduced turnout compared to Alabama and other states that did not have the requirement.

Kansas and Tennessee disputing those findings.

In this year's primary and general elections, Alabamians for the first time had to show a photo ID to cast a ballot.