The SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act poses a significant threat to democracy in the United States by placing barriers on voting for many eligible citizens, especially women, those who rely on voting by mail. Furthermore, this act essentially creates a poll tax, which further restrains people from voting. Therefore, I believe that it should not be passed.
This act, which has passed in the House of Representatives but has stalled in the Senate, would require documentary proof of citizenship such as passport or birth certificate at the time of registration and photo ID at the time of voting. Additionally, it would make voting by mail more difficult. President Trump, who believes that the 2020 election was stolen due to voter fraud, has promoted this bill because he believes that it will limit voter fraud in the future. Generally, Republicans believe that this act is necessary to prevent voter fraud, while Democrats believe that it will disenfranchise eligible voters.
The documentation that would be needed to vote if the SAVE Act passed would cause many eligible voters to have increased difficulties with voting accessibility due to the requirement to buy the documentation needed, which I believe is unconstitutional and a danger to democracy. Currently, 21 million Americans do not have documents proving their citizenship available, and 2.6 million don’t have any government issued photo ID. Getting the documentation needed to vote is expensive. Buying a passport costs $165, which puts a poll tax on voting because if someone isn’t able to buy a passport and doesn’t have access to their birth certificate, then they won’t be able to vote.
Furthermore, the SAVE Act makes it more difficult for married women to vote, which is another way in which this act excludes people from participating in the United States democracy and therefore should not be passed. When married women change their last name, their name no longer matches the name on their birth certificate. So, these women could not use their birth certificate to register to vote. Instead, they would have to obtain a REAL ID or a passport, both of which cost money. Alternatively, they could show their marriage certificate, but many people do not have this document accessible so obtaining one is another cost and hurdle.
Additionally, the SAVE Act would make voting by mail more difficult, which further undermines democracy. This form of voting is both popular and safe, but the SAVE Act would limit many people’s ability to vote in this way. Voting by mail makes voting significantly easier for people who are disabled, are elderly, work on election day, are in the military, or live in rural areas. So, if fewer people were able to vote by mail due to the SAVE Act, millions of people will have limited voting accessibility.
Therefore, to protect democracy in the United States, which is a foundational value of this country, the SAVE Act should not be passed. It would cause a decrease in voting accessibility for millions of Americans, which endangers our democracy because a true democracy is supposed to value everyone’s voice, but by restricting access to voting for millions of people this democracy is threatened.
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