A software glitch mistakenly sent regular Colorado driver’s licenses to hundreds of immigrants living in the United States illegally, rather than the special licenses they were supposed to get, officials said Friday.
The special driver’s licenses created for the first time this year for immigrants do not have an intended disclaimer that makes it clear the holder cannot vote, according to authorities.
Specifically, the cards do not have a black band near the top indicating that the license does not offer voting privileges and is not for “public benefit purposes.”
“They didn’t have all the security measures they were supposed to have to make sure they were used correctly,” said Daria Serna, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Revenue.
The driver’s license cards for those with visas and those living here illegally look “identical” to driver’s licenses for U.S. citizens living in Colorado, according to a news release Friday by John Raffetto, spokesman for private contractor MorphoTrust.
The glitch
resulted in errors that invalidated 524 driver’s licenses for those living in this country illegally, Raffetto said.
MorphoTrust, which printed the identification cards, is replacing the bad cards with legitimate ones as soon as the old cards are returned, Raffetto’s news release says.
The new licenses, which are valid for three years, were printed for immigrants following the passage of Senate Bill 251.
Flaws in the first batch of cards, which went into production Aug. 1, were discovered Monday, he said. A review determined that only the first batch of cards was faulty.
“We have verified, with 100 percent certainty, that the update error was corrected the morning of August 6th, before any additional cards were produced,” the MorphoTrust news release says.
E-mail notices will be sent to those who received the defective driver’s license. MorphoTrust will provide gift cards to compensate those who received the invalid driver’s licenses.
“The Department of Revenue took action immediately after notification of the printing error of driver’s licenses,” a news release says. “The DMV correctly issued the temporary state card to the customer; it was the vendor that issued the incorrect permanent state card. This printing error was no fault of the DMV or the customer.”
Activists say an estimated 150,000 people living in Colorado illegally may seek one of the driver’s licenses. The licenses are meant to ensure that applicants know how to drive and are familiar with Colorado law. They also allow recipients to obtain insurance.
To obtain a license, an applicant must sign an affidavit saying they are currently a Colorado resident, provide proof of a Colorado tax return filing for the preceding year, and present evidence of residency.
If unable to meet those requirements, an applicant can sign an affidavit that they’ve been a Colorado resident for the past 24 months and show proof of residency during that time.
They must also provide a taxpayer identification number, show a valid passport, military or consular identification card and finally sign an affidavit saying that they have applied — or will apply — for lawful presence in the U.S.
Staff reporter Jesse Paul contributed to this report.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, kmitchell@denverpost.com, denverpost.com/coldcases
