Save Act would undermine voter registration for all Americans

See the whole Federal attacks on the freedom of voting collection

This is adapted from a piece that first appeared Election Law Blog.

Last month, the Congress Republicans promised Save actionA bill that requires all Americans to deliver a birth certificate, passport or one of a few other citizenship documents each time they register or register to vote. If adopted, it would destroy the voter registration while it released tens of thousands of millions of eligible US citizens.

More than 21 million US citizens do not have these documents easily accessible, according to survey data. But the Save Act is likely to have a negative impact on far more Americans than the data suggests. Many may not have noticed how largely the bill could apply to the requirements for show-your-papers is not only limited to new registrations, but rather applies to any “application to register to vote”, which in many jurisdictions includes re -registrations and changes of address. And tens of thousands of millions of Americans register or register between each federal choice.

SAVE ACT would increase most methods for voter registration

In addition, the bill would wipe out or strengthen long -standing and popular methods of voter registration for all voters, including registration per year. Mail, voter registration drive, online voter registration and automatic voter registration.

The bill would functionally eliminate post registration by demanding voters who register per year. Mail to make citizenship documents “personal” to an electoral before the registration deadline. It would also abolish many or all voter registration drives and online voter registration systems, which are typically treated as an mail registration. (Furthermore, the bill does not consider copies or electronic items over citizenship documents.) And it would automatically inhibit voter registration as many of these transactions do not occur in person while anyone has citizenship documents with them.

Address change could also be significantly affected. Instead of your registration automatically updating when, for example, you change your driver’s license online, you may need to bring your passport or birth certificate to an election agency office to update your voter registration.

Nothing in the Save Act addresses these concerns. The bill consistently cuts to the benefit of a person’s registration in a few places where your registration can count. And that would probably be the case every time you needed to update your registration.

SAVE ACT’s documentation requirements could exclude tens of thousands of millions of Americans from voter rolls

In addition to the effect of voter registration methods, SAVE ACT would exclude millions of eligible US citizens who do not have clear access to the documentation it requires. According to a survey conducted by the Brennan Center and Partners, more than 9 percent of US citizens of voting age or 21.3 million people do not have a passport, birth certificate or naturalization papers that are easily accessible. Selects of color, voters who change their names (especially, Married women) and Younger Voters would be most significantly affected.

As our colleagues Owen Bacskai and Eliza Sweren-Becker cataloged, similar requirements in Arizona and Kansa’s tens of thousands of citizens from registering. Kansas’s Show-your-Papers policy was beaten down as constitutionally and recently requested criticism Even from Kansas’s Republican Secretary of State.

Contrary to what some have suggested, the SAVE ACT does not contain a meaningful miscontracting provision that would allow them without physical documentation to detect. While the Bill contains a provision that requires states to establish an error -proof process for those without citizenship documents to demonstrate their citizenship through “other evidence” and swearing for a statement, this option is vague and seriously undercut by another provision that does it to a crime for election officials to register any applicant who does not “present documentary proof of US citizenship.” Many election officials would be wary of risking criminal prosecution for driving according to this provision.

In short, the SAVE ACT would free up a large number of Americans and Congress should reject it.