30 Years of the Motor Voter Law: Why This Act Has Trapped Countless Immigrants
Elizabeth Keathley's unintended voter registration spirals into a near-deportation ordeal. Join as she and her lawyer, Richard Hanus, recount the battle.
Elizabeth Keathley's unintended voter registration spirals into a near-deportation ordeal. Join as she and her lawyer, Richard Hanus, recount the battle.
In 2006, Filipino immigrant Elizabeth Keathley mistakenly registered to vote while at a DMV in Illinois. After receiving her Voter ID in the mail, she ended up casting a ballot in the next election thinking she could do so. However, she wasn’t a U.S. citizen at the time and, because of her actions, faced eventual deportation back to the Philippines.
Filipino immigrant Elizabeth Keathley mistakenly registered to vote while at a DMV in Illinois through a federal law best known as the Motor Voter Law. This originally well-intentioned program is now trapping hundreds of immigrants into federal charges and possible deportation for an act they didn’t fully comprehend to begin with.
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