Dear Editor,
On April 10, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, H.R.22, passed the US House and is on its way to the Senate.
The League of Women Voters of Vermont (LWVVT) opposes the SAVE Act because it requires American citizens registering to vote or updating registration information to present in-person proof of citizenship. This disenfranchises voters by creating barriers to voting, particularly since election officials already verify voter eligibility and ensure voter rolls are accurate.
SAVE will make it harder for American citizens to vote as it eliminates many modes of voter registration: register by mail, online, through the DMV or other state agencies, and voter registration drives.
Under SAVE, individuals must go to an election office in person to register to vote or update registration information. This places significant staffing, financial, and bureaucratic burdens on election officials, disrupting systems that have kept our elections running smoothly.
SAVE creates disproportionate barriers for more than 21 million Americans who may not have easy access to mandatory documents.
Eight in 10 married women have changed their last name, meaning their birth certificates don’t match their current legal name.
Rural voters, working-class voters, voters of color, and older Americans are less likely to hold passports or easily accessible birth certificates.
Military members abroad cannot register or change their voter registration in person.
Tribal members with tribal IDs that don’t usually list their place of birth may not be able to vote.
Survivors of natural disasters who have lost all their personal records may not be able to vote.
Inmates who can vote will have difficulty obtaining documentation and cannot go to an election office to register.
SAVE purports to protect elections from non-citizen votes, of which there is no widespread evidence. It is already illegal and extraordinarily rare for non-citizens to vote. Violations lead to heavy fines, imprisonment, and deportation. According to a Brennan Center study, during the 2016 election, election officials identified 30 incidents of suspected non-citizen voting across 23.5 million votes cast in 42 jurisdictions — comprising 0.0001% of total votes.
LWVVT calls on the US Senate and our Vermont Senators Sanders and Welch to oppose the SAVE Act and protect the rights of American citizens to vote without undue hardships or obstacles. SAVE is dangerous, undermines our democracy, and disenfranchises sizable portions of our citizens.
Sue Racanelli, president of the League of Women Voters of Vermont
