To the Editor:
The League of Women Voters is monitoring a bill in Congress, The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, H.R.22, which is likely to come up for a vote in both houses of Congress imminently. We strongly oppose this legislation as it makes it more difficult for American citizens to register and re-register to vote.
The name implies that the purpose of this bill is to “safeguard” our elections and to keep non-citizens from registering to vote. This is a red herring. The SAVE Act is about silencing voters, not safeguarding elections. It will also significantly impact online and mail-in voter registration.
If this bill becomes law, when you register or re-register to vote, you will have to produce proof of citizenship. Neither your driver’s license, social security card nor your military ID would be considered “proof”. Most people would have to produce either a birth certificate or a passport. And if your name has changed, such as when a married woman decides to take her husband’s name, your birth certificate alone would not be proof. This would be a federal law therefore it would impact all federal elections and supersede NYS law.
If legislators really want to secure and improve elections, they should invest in upgraded equipment, expanded staffing for election administrators and training for poll workers.
We need Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act and pass pro-voting reforms like Same-Day Registration, protections for voters with disabilities and funding for the Election Assistance Commission.
Please contact your congressperson and senator and ask them to do everything they can to prevent this bill from becoming law. Help empower voters and defend democracy.
Sheila Cohen & Kim Cameron, co-presidents
League of Women Voters of Cortland County
