The Republican Party figured out a long time ago that their platform is not in the best interests of the majority of voters, and so they have striven for decades to develop creative barriers to voting. Now, while they have Congressional majorities, they are fast-tracking the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act (HR22 and S128).
Under the SAVE Act, a citizen must go in person to register or re-register to vote and present a type of identification that millions of voters do not have readily available. Currently, most people register or re-register by mail or online or at the DMV. Under SAVE, a simple address change becomes a day off work to go in person to the election office, and voter registration drives become a thing of the past.
If you think you have the necessary identification to present because you have a REAL ID driver’s license, guess again. The REAL ID does not specify your citizenship, does it? (Take it out of your wallet and look at it.)
But wait! There’s more. Just in time for Women’s History Month, here comes the SAVE Act, targeting the more than 80 percent of married women who change their names. Good luck trying to prove your eligibility to vote using your birth certificate if it does not reflect your current legal name. As Thom Hartmann put it, “Republicans don’t want women to vote.”
A valid passport will serve the purpose, but consider this statistic—according to the Center for American Progress, 153 million Americans voted in the 2024 Presidential Election, and 146 million Americans don’t possess a valid passport. Looks like voter suppression to me.
The Brennan Center for Justice urges us all to call our Congressional representatives with this simple message: “As your constituent, I urge you to vote NO against the SAVE Act. This bill could block 21 million Americans from being able to vote. Requiring Americans to produce their birth certificate or passport adds unnecessary bureaucracy to the process. Many Americans don’t have these documents readily available. It must be rejected.”
Congressional phone numbers:
Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove (323)965-1422
Representative Ted Lieu (323) 651-1040
Senator Alex Padilla (916) 448-2787
Senator Adam Schiff (202) 224-3841
For more about the SAVE Act, go to:
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-save-act-overview-and-facts/
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/22/related-bills
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/128