“At a time when the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is working to make it easier for Puerto Ricans to vote — considering bilingual ballots at the urging of the U.S. Justice Department — the state is making it harder for Puerto Ricans to identify themselves,” writes Cleveland Plain Dealer blogger, Robert L. Smith on a “little-known state policy” that could affect thousands of Ohio Latinos before the November election.
Without much notice, the state now refuses to accept Puerto Rican birth certificates, the “primary document for people applying for a driver’s license or for a state identification card.” This may also impact voter registration activities for Latinos in the state as more than a quarter of all voter applicants in 2008 registered to vote when obtaining or updating a state ID at the motor vehicles offices.
State officials explain that the Puerto Rican documents are being refused because they are “untrustworthy,” but reportedly are not informing Puerto Ricans, who are trying to apply for state ID, of the next steps they need to take.
All Puerto Ricans born on the island are expected to be issued new birth certificates by Sept. 30, giving them about three days to beat the voter registration deadline before the midterm election. While making it easier to vote for the state’s Latino population is applaudable, the efforts are useless when the population is left without the tools necessary to identify themselves and thus participate in American life, such as applying for jobs and registering to vote.