Today’s Republican Party, committed to unpopular policies, shackled to an increasingly unpopular president and his billionaire co-president, is taking voter suppression strategies to ever greater lengths. Rather than implement policies of which voters approve, the Republican strategy is to eliminate as many voters as possible by creating obstacles to voter registration.

Republicans are pushing the SAVE Act, HR 22, a dangerous bill that would create unnecessary barriers to voter registration for millions of eligible Americans. The House passed it last session, but it never made it to the Senate — so they’re bringing it back, attempting to restrict access to the ballot.

The SAVE Act would require every voter to show proof of citizenship, such as a passport or original birth certificate, when registering to vote in federal elections. Millions of eligible voters don’t have these documents readily available. The bill would require showing proof in person, eliminating online and mail-in voter registration. It wouldn’t improve election security — it would just make it significantly harder for everyday Americans to vote.

Especially vulnerable to this law would be: married women who have changed their last names, who don’t have birth certificates matching their legal name; naturalized citizens who could face additional barriers and intimidation; and military members, tribal citizens and working-class Americans who may not have easy access to these documents, among others.

Americans without citizenship are already barred from voting in federal elections. States have secure systems in place to verify voter eligibility — this bill is unnecessary and punitive.

Marta Lev

Florence