By Don C. Reed
Republicans have a sneaky new bill called “the SAVE Act: the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.“ (1)
It seems harmless enough at first glance: the name on the birth certificate must exactly match the one on the voting material, or it is not valid.
But it is pure poison for a woman’s right to vote. If put into law, (and it has already passed the House of Representatives) the so-called SAVE Act would deny the vote of as many as 59 million women — those who took their husband’s last name in marriage .
What if that was you? How would you fix it? You would have to re-register in person, (not by mail), bringing official documents including your birth certificate or passport, as well as a government-issue photo ID. Without those you could not vote.
Why would Republicans want to take away the female vote? Perhaps because women are more likely to vote Democrat than Republican, by a margin of 8 points, 53% to 45%. More women, more Democrats. (2)
Key detail: 21 million voting-age citizens do not have the proper documents.
Question: is there a problem which justifies such a bizarre new law?
In a word, no. And here’s why.
If you commit real-life voter fraud, you can go to jail, or be deported.
Would you risk deportation or prison,, just to vote twice??
Harsh penalties may be why voter fraud is an almost non-existent crime. Out of millions of votes cast in any state, no more than a handful were cast illegally. (3)
For instance, in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, 32 elections over 30 years meant over 100 million votes cast — but only 39 cases of voter fraud.
How can anyone compare those numbers — 100 million votes cast versus 39 “bad” — and pretend there is a problem with voter fraud?
But wait, there’s more.
Consider the people who administer the voting process; they will be in danger of jail. One honest mistake could mean five years in prison. The new procedures will not only be complicated, and risky, but will come with no new budget money to hire additional staff.
And the non-profit groups who help new voters register? They will be at risk; again, errors may be considered criminal. (4).
The “Save Act” is a war against America’s right to vote; it must be opposed, and defeated. (5)
1. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/22
2. https://prri.org/spotlight/american-women-are-not-politically-monolithic/
3. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-widespread-is-election-fraud-in-the-united-states-not-very/
5. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5738317-trump-voter-id-executive-order/