I d o not like the idea of driving on our roads with drivers who have not taken the written and behind-the-wheel driving tests provided by Oregon DMV, nor do I relish driving on our roads with lots of uninsured drivers. If you don’t have a driver’s card/license, it is nearly impossible to buy auto insurance. Measure 88, the Oregon driver’s card measure on November’s ballot, provides a fix for these problems.

Causa Oregon, a Latino advocacy group, estimates that there were fully 80,000 Latinos who had Oregon driver’s licenses in 2006 before driver’s license privileges were rescinded by then-Gov. Ted Kulongoski. States were being pressured to tie their driver’s licenses to social security numbers and to require three pieces of ID in order to issue a driver’s license. These requirements come from a federal law passed in 2005, called the REAL ID Act. Kulongoski bowed to federal pressure and canceled driving privileges for undocumented immigrants via an administrative order without a vote by the Oregon Legislature. The state of Washington did not bow to those same pressures, and undocumented immigrants in Washington state have always had state driver’s licenses. The REAL ID Act remains controversial, and by January 2014, 21 states are compliant, 20 states have been granted extensions and 15 states remain noncompliant. California withdrew driving privileges for a while, but undocumented immigrants can now have drivers’ privileges in California.

In Deschutes County, as in all of Oregon, many immigrant parents drive without a license. They risk tickets and heavy fines for doing so. Every parent needs to drive to the grocery store, to the doctor, to school and to work. Walk a mile in those shoes. Even if Measure 88 is defeated, immigrants will continue to drive. Our immigrant neighbors, some of whom you know, wait anxiously for the day when they can drive again, confidently, without fear of tickets and fines.

Measure 88 is a limited, common-sense measure that will allow undocumented Oregon residents to apply for an Oregon driver’s card. This is a card, not a license, and it cannot be used for boarding a plane, to register to vote or to obtain government benefits. However, like the license, applicants for the drivers card must take and pass the usual written and behind-the-wheel DMV tests, and pay the usual fees. Insurance agencies require an Oregon driver’s license before they will sell auto insurance, so passage of Measure 88 will also mean fewer uninsured drivers on Oregon’s roads. This will result in safer roads for all of us.

Law enforcement worked closely with Oregon’s lawmakers to draft Senate Bill 833, the original driver’s card legislation that passed the Oregon Legislature with bipartisan support in 2013. The bill was signed into law by Gov. John Kitzhaber in May 2013. The new law was immediately challenged by a successful signature-gathering campaign sponsored by an anti-immigrant organization with out-of-state funding. Now, the Oregon electorate must vote “yes” for Measure 88 in November 2014 in order to reinstate the law.

The current situation harms veterans as well as immigrants. Stiff identification requirements have caused problems for veterans. Often returning veterans have only one piece of ID, their military ID, and that one piece of ID is not enough to get an Oregon driver’s license. Delays in getting a driver’s license can cause delays in employment. The Oregon driver’s card would serve as a bridge to normal identification for returning veterans.

The driver’s card has no relationship to federal immigration policies and confers no changes to federal immigration status. Simply stated, the Oregon driver’s card is a safety measure that will allow immigrant mothers and fathers and veterans to drive to the grocery store. Please vote yes on Measure 88.

— Marilyn Burwell lives in Bend.