"It gives us an added measure of protection against fraud," he said. "It's always been a crime to vote illegally. . . . It might be easier to detect the crime."

Critics on both sides of the immigration issue have wanted to see a more in-depth audit. Anti-illegal immigration activists have said the audit suggests more wide-scale voter fraud. Immigrant rights activists, meanwhile, called the legislation a rush to judgement based on an inconclusive audit.

Bramble said the audit and the recent follow-up show his legislation was merited to keep illegal immigrants from using a driver license to access the rights of citizenship.

"If they had access to voting because they were allowed to obtain a driver license, if we confirm even one illegal alien abused that, it was one too many," Bramble said.

Immigrant rights activist Tony Yapias called Bramble's legislation a "rush to judgement," but agreed that noncitizens should be prosecuted for voting.

"It took years and years to become a citizen," Yapias said. "There's a distinction in that. This is a special right we have as U.S. citizens."

Meanwhile, Russell Sias, chairman for Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement, said "it's high time" for an investigation. "Do we have laws or don't we? If we do, are we going to pay any attention to them or not?"

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com