Letter: Driver's licenses, voting, lines at the DMV

To the editor:

I couldn’t disagree more with a recent commentary (online on March 5) decrying that “terrorists and criminals” might now be able to get driver’s licenses. Nothing stops such people from becoming licensed drivers, now. For example, I suspect every person being prosecuted for the Jan. 6 insurrection was a U.S. citizen and a licensed driver.

I’d much rather see everyone driving with me on the roads be a tested, licensed, insured driver, even if some of those regular folk trying to get to work and make a living are undocumented. They’re still people just like the rest of us, create by and beloved of God. This is especially true at a time when so many employers in our area are having trouble finding adequate numbers of workers.

Regarding voting, the reality is that folk will only be registered to vote at the time they apply for their license if they have proven their U.S. citizenship. As has been proven over and over again, the severe penalties that result from unauthorized voting ensure that only authorized people vote, no matter how much some people’s imaginations run away with them.

Regarding wait times for folk taking driver’s tests, we have wait times because our Republican friends have consistently resisted the need to devote more resources to the DMV.

Finally I can’t help but note that a wide variety of business owners and law enforcement officials have expressed support for properly licensing our state’s drivers regardless of their immigration status. Evidently they want the highways to be safe and workers to be able to get to their jobs each day, too.

Peace, blessings, and good health.

Greg Kapphahn
Alexandria, MN