Thread: Poll: 58 percent oppose Spitzer’s license plan

Poll: 58 percent oppose Spitzer's license plan
BY JAMES T. MADORE | james.madore@newsday.com
October 5, 2007

ALBANY - Debate over Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to offer driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants intensified yesterday with the release of a poll showing that 58 percent of voters oppose the initiative, and more groups taking sides.

Only 35 percent of the 700 surveyed by Zogby International said they backed the new license policy with the strongest support coming from people under age 30 and Democrats. Opposition was centered in upstate and among Republicans.

Later, county clerks met here to debate the license change, which would allow applicants to substitute a valid foreign passport and other documents for the required Social Security card. In upstate, county clerks issue driver's licenses for the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The clerks voted, 29-4, to oppose Spitzer's plan.

Long Island's county clerks - Maureen O'Connell of Nassau and Judith Pascale of Suffolk, both Republicans - did not vote because neither issues driver's licenses.

But O'Connell, who ran unsuccessfully in February for an open Senate seat against Democrat Craig Johnson, expressed concern that the new policy would undermine license validity. She relies on licenses to prove identity for notarizing documents. "This will make the driver's license less reliable," she said.

Spitzer, a Democrat, noted the clerks' vote was along party lines with only one Democrat opposing him. He said the move "makes our state less secure and our roads less safe."

Spitzer emphasized that a special "document verification unit" was being created within DMV to scrutinize the records submitted by immigrants, and that the screening process would be the nation's most rigorous.

He also gained another powerful ally when the Catholic bishops expressed cautious approval. Given the federal government's inaction on immigration reform and the economic benefits derived from the undocumented, the bishops said "Governor Spitzer's action was appropriate," though they acknowledged the "legitimate security issues" raised by opponents.

The Conservative Party today begins airing a commercial criticizing the license policy. It states in part, "Along the Mexican border, we lock up illegal immigrants. In New York, Governor Spitzer wants to give them driver's licenses. Tell Spitzer he's wrong."
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/polit ... 2989.story

I would say that poll is low numbers...I bet a whole lot more folks never polled ...would very bad idea

Hope everyone writes this so called Governor and voices their disgust, I did http://www.ny.gov/contact/index.html

Done! Thanks for the link Cliffdid.

Done, e-mail message sent below:

Dear Governor Spitzer:

Congratulations on your sell-out of the American citizen. Besides giving an official government license to ILLEGAL ALIENS that aids and abets their criminal presence in the state of NY, you have endangered the entire country. Furthermore, thank you so much for opening the door to massive voter fraud.

What’s next? Will you be appointing ILLEGAL ALIENS to bureaucratic positions within your administration?

I'm pleased the County Clerks have called you out "of the shadows". I do hope they stuff your "executive order" where "there is a lack of sunshine."

With all due respect, you have asinine views of your responsibilities to the good citizens of the state of NY and America.

Just one last word...get your head screwed on straight.

Libidiot, illegal alien hugger NY Times article. So read between the lines a bit:

October 5, 2007
State Clerks’ Group Votes to Condemn License Policy
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE

ALBANY, Oct. 4 — The state association of county clerks voted on Thursday to condemn Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s executive order allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, and at least a dozen said they would not follow the new policy despite state laws obligating them to do so.

Their resistance could set up a legal clash over the new policy, already the subject of an intense debate between Mr. Spitzer and state Republicans, who have vowed to overturn the policy legislatively.

In 51 of the state’s 62 counties, county clerks operate Department of Motor Vehicles offices as agents of the state. The executive order, issued on Sept. 21 and expected to be phased in starting in December, would permit people to apply for driver’s licenses without a Social Security number. The move reverses a policy instituted by Mr. Spitzer’s predecessor, George E. Pataki. But critics say Mr. Spitzer’s policy would enable voter fraud and possibly terrorism.

At a special meeting of the New York State Association of County Clerks, 29 clerks voted in person or by phone for a resolution urging Mr. Spitzer to withdraw the new policy. All but one were Republicans from counties that run motor vehicle offices for the state.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, a Republican, hailed the clerks for “doing the right thing,â€

REMEMBER GOVERNOR GRAY DAVIS?