Most people in Jersey will have to get a registration card and be added to a population database from 2012.

BBC: Jersey politicians vote for population database

Under the new law, people moving to Jersey or islanders changing job or moving house will need a registration card.

BBC: Jersey's new population law due in February

At another station, a boy who successfully voted with a fraudulent registration card, admitted to being only 13, Magbual said.

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That proof of residence is a critical document, and for many the only form of identification: Besides serving as proof of nationality and getting you a new roof over your head, it can help you get discounted provisions at government-run stores, a phone and utility hookup and a voter registration card.

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"If you attempt to impose ... a credit card and registration model ... there will be a substantial loss of readership, " said David Sobel, general counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, describing part of the plaintiffs' strategy.

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The federal "Motor Voter" law, enacted in 1993 to expand voter registration, allows would-be voters to fill out a mail-in voter registration card and swear they are citizens under penalty of perjury, but it doesn't require them to show proof.

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"I had a nightmare last night that I forget my voter registration card, " said Marnie Coons, a 19-year-old UVA student and Obama supporter.

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For those who don't get a card there is talk of fines, enforced registration and penalties in public service provision.

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Acknowledging these painful truths and in a token of my conversion, I have burned my voter registration card so as to never be patsy or party to another damn fool election.

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