Today I learned that I Could be Disenfranchised by the SAVE Act

The proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act requires voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship at the time of registration. According to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, this law is necessary to protect the integrity of our election system and to ensure that “the right people” vote.

Republicans have frequently asserted that noncitizens are voting in huge numbers, but the facts are otherwise. There are rare examples of voter fraud, mostly by people who incorrectly thought that they could legally vote. The numbers are so low that it is impossible that these votes could swing a national election.

But wouldn’t it be better to be safe than sorry? To require documentation of citizenship from all voters? There are already many safeguards ensuring that only citizens vote. Checks of citizenship occur at the time of voter registration, at the polls through identification verification, through regular scrutiny of voter registration lists, and when certifying the election. The SAVE Act would not make voting more secure, but it would disenfranchise millions of voters, especially women.

In order to legally vote, citizens would have to submit proof that they were born in the United States by submitting a passport or government issued photo ID card that lists the applicant’s place of birth. A driver’s license, even a Real ID, typically does not list a place of birth and so would have to be coupled with a certified birth certificate or a hospital record of birth. The prospective voter’s legal name would have to match the name on their birth certificate, a requirement that affects every woman who changed her name when she married.

The 24th Amendment to the Constitution prohibits denying citizens a right to vote for failure to pay a poll tax or other type of tax. The requirement that citizens submit these documents has the effect of a poll tax. It costs $130 plus a $35 facility fee to obtain a passport and an extra $30 for a passport card. In California, fees for certified copies of vital records are between $18 and $31 each. In addition, it can take many weeks to obtain a passport, unless you are willing to pay an extra $60 for expedited service.

Many Americans lack the means to pay these fees and the additional fees to prove that a woman who uses a married name is the same person as the one on the birth certificate. I am 78 years old and have been married three times. I have not used my birth name since 1968. It would be hard for me to convince anyone that I am the same woman as the one who was born on Guam in 1947. As a matter of fact, I have previously been considered a noncitizen, just based on where I was born, although Guam is an American territory.

In addition, not all Americans actually have a birth certificate. My father did not have one. The U.S. Navy accepted a baptismal certificate as proof of age, and he served honorably for 34 years. Under the SAVE Act, he could be denied his right to vote.

Someone on social media suggested that those who introduced this bill did not think it through, but I think they did. It seems to me that it is a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise citizens, especially women, who are not seen as the “right” kind of voters.