HARTFORD, CT – In discussing the standardization of driver-only licenses in the state, lawmakers came up against the issue of voter fraud again in a public hearing Monday.
The Transportation Committee heard testimony from several speakers on a bill regarding driver-only licenses as well as other topics. Included in those testimonies was Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Tony Guerrera, who voiced his support for driver-only (DO) licenses.
House Bill 5057, “An Act Standardizing Drive-Only Licenses,” which was initially proposed by Gov. Ned Lamont, is a reaction to laws being passed in other states that have decided not to recognize DO licenses as valid.
In May 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new law under which drivers who present a DO license during a traffic stop would receive a citation.
Florida’s new policy would affect an estimated 61,000 undocumented Connecticut residents, as of July 2023, if they travel to Florida. Several members of the committee, as well as Guerrera, voiced their support for remodeling the licenses so that they do not indicate whether they are DO licenses.
Guerrera testified to his belief that the state should standardize DO licenses for, among other reasons, the protection of undocumented Connecticut residents.
Currently, each DO license contains a DO on the front – as well as the words “Not For Federal Identification – which distinguishes it from a standard license. The new bill would see them be changed to closely resemble a standard driver’s license.
Some of the debate surrounding DO licenses – which were first implemented in Connecticut in 2014 – concerns the issue of voter fraud in the state, an issue that has received more attention recently on the heels of the Bridgeport voting scandal during which a campaign worker was caught on video stuffing a ballot box with absentee ballots.
Guerrera said it was his perspective that modifying the licenses was the “right thing to do,” and that there are many other ways for someone to manipulate the system than through utilizing a DO license.
“There’s always going to be individuals that may want to try to do the wrong thing, but for the thousands that do the right thing, we should be doing the right thing,” Guerrera said.
Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, echoed that sentiment.
“If people are going to do ill, this is not going to be something that stops them or not stops them,” he said.
Rep. Jason Perillo, R-Shelton, testified in opposition of the bill, and said that just because there are other avenues for people to commit voter fraud in the state, the government should not present them with another.
“We should be doing our best to ensure the sanctity of our voting,” Perillo said. His concern, he said, is that those working at the polls will not be able to tell the difference between a DO and standard license if the distinguishing factors are altered.
Rep. Tom O’Dea, R-New Canaan, said it was his perspective that, while he wants driver-only licenses to work, he doesn’t believe that they should fully resemble a standard license.
“There is a potential for compromise, I believe, but the compromise can’t be that we don’t have some distinguishing marks on the license,” he said. He and Perillo stated that they do not want proper voters to be disenfranchised.
When registering for a DO license, registrants are not asked about registering to vote, nor are they asked to sign any kind of legal document that would link them to voter registration, unlike with a standard license.
In order to use a DO license to improperly vote, said Rep. Roland Lemar, one of the committee’s co-chairs, someone would have to go through many other steps of fraud to even get to the point of presenting their DO license.
