About the Bill

HB1422 | Rep. Wayne Long and Sen. Mark Johnson | House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs 
This bill would require the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration to prepare a monthly report with the names and identifying information of anyone who has a driver’s license in addition to a valid nonimmigrant visa or entry into the United States and deliver it to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State would then verify if any person were listed in the voter rolls of the state, and that person would be removed from the voter rolls and their license would also be suspended. This bill would also require DFA to modify the driver’s license of a person with nonimmigrant status to be printed vertically and to clearly state on its face “Limited Term.” This would remove the ability of non-citizens to have a REAL ID compliant driver’s license which will be required as of May 7, 2025, to enter federal buildings, and to fly. This bill would also restrict the forms of ID that Arkansans can use to vote, including concealed handgun carry licenses and college/university IDs. 

AACF Testimony on March 19, 2025, House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs

Maricella Garcia, Race Equity Director, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. My name is Maricella Garcia, and I am with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. AACF has worked for more than 47 years to advocate for research-driven policies that have improved the lives of children and families in Arkansas.

First, instead of trying to find solutions to address the fact that Arkansas has one of the lowest voting population turnouts, HB1422 would make it harder to vote as it’s restricting the forms of identification allowed to verify voter registration.

This bill would also require non-citizens’ driver’s licenses to be printed in a vertical format, have a distinctive appearance from those vertical licenses already issued to drivers who are under the age of 21, and display on the face of the license the phrase “Limited Term.” Implementing these requirements would be a significant cost for the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) and also pose complications complying with REAL ID requirements.

HB1422 is also a large government overreach trying to address a problem that doesn’t exist. This bill suggests that there may be a large number of non-citizens who are knowingly trying to vote. Non-citizens are not trying to vote illegally because if they did, it would permanently bar them from having any kind status ever again. That’s one reason why there’s been no evidence in Arkansas of non-citizens voting. 

This bill would require DFA to prepare a monthly report with the names and identifying information of anyone who has a non-citizen driver’s license and deliver it to the Secretary of State. This is a large privacy intrusion for people who have not asked to be engaged in voting since obtaining a driver’s license does not mean a person has any intention of voting or trying to register to vote. State law already requires an individual to verify their immigration status in order to obtain a driver’s license. They provide that information to DFA for the purpose of obtaining the license but have not given permission for that data to be shared with the Secretary of States’s office.

But this bill would require DFA to share an immense amount of data with the Secretary of State’s Office every month, and how that sensitive data will be protected is not clear in this bill. Further, this bill does not contemplate first determining whether a non-citizen has a violation or is being accused of a violation before their data is just given away. That is a violation of privacy for those individuals who have not done anything wrong.

Immigration status is fluid. Over the term of a valid driver’s license, an individual’s immigration status could change without needing to get their driver’s license renewed. For example, someone who has non-immigrant status, meaning someone who is lawfully present with a temporary visa for the purpose of work or study, could then become a legal permanent resident – which is an immigrant status. From there, this person could become a U.S. citizen. In some cases, all of these steps could happen in less than four years. As such, that individual who was here on a temporary visa that was valid for four years and who also obtained a driver’s license around that same time that was equally valid for four years, may not change their driver’s license immediately when their immigration status changes. However, they may have, upon becoming a U.S. citizen registered to vote. In cases like these, if this bill is enacted, such individuals are going to be penalized possibly by having their ability to vote removed. 

In addition, keep in mind many people have the same name. It’s possible that an individual who is a U.S. citizen will be removed from the voter registration list without knowing it simply because of duplicate name issues.

Because of the associated costs, complexity of immigration law, concerns about data privacy, and the fact that there is no evidence indicating non-citizens are trying to vote, I would ask that you vote no on HB1422. The state does not have a reason to unilaterally have access to people’s data across agencies for the purpose of verifying voter registration when that information was collected by another agency for an entirely different purpose — in this case obtaining a driver’s license. Again, applying for and being issued a driver’s license is not equivalent to a person registering to vote. If we are going to share data across agencies, we have to be cautious and ensure data security processes are clearly addressed. Thank you.