There’s a Bill in Congress to Make Voting Harder for Everyone
Under current US law, it is illegal for non-citizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. Additionally, we have robust processes to ensure that only eligible voters are casting ballots. However, the Senate is set to vote on a bill that not only requires all eligible voters to provide citizenship documentation to register to vote, but also to bring photo ID to the ballot box.
Under this law, each and every American citizen would have to show very specific documents, like a passport or an original birth certificate, in person when registering to vote, updating their voter registration, and casting their ballot.
You may be among the millions of eligible voters who do not have the documentation required by this law, called the SAVE America Act, to prove your citizenship. The requirements of the SAVE America Act would unnecessarily burden many communities of eligible voters.
We have 65, 163 total citizens of voting age in Mendocino County all of whom would likely be impacted by this law at some point in their lives.
In our county, we have many married or divorced women who likely changed their last name. Americans who have changed their name, would also be required to secure updated documentation to vote. Surveys show that eight in ten married women have changed their surname, meaning they do not possess a birth certificate that matches their current legal name and, therefore, could not present it as valid proof of citizenship. There are an estimated 69 million American women who lack the paperwork that reflects their current name.
In our county, we have many voters who have moved in the past year. Every time a voter moves, they must re-register to vote. Under the SAVE America Act, voters must show citizenship documentation every time they register, including after a move.
Similar legislation has been tested at the state level. Actions in Arizona, Alabama, Kansas, and Georgia requiring documentary proof of citizenship have been struck down because they prevented eligible voters from registering.
Thank your legislators for opposing the SAVE Act and the potential ballot measure coming up in November.
Charlene McAllister, President
LWV Mendocino County
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