Klas: GOP’s SAVE Act voter law is insincere solution in search of phantom problem

Listen closely to the arguments of the House Republicans pushing the so-called Safeguard American Voter Eligibility SAVE Act and you realize they aren t interested in solving the trouble the bill purports to address non-citizens voting in federal elections If you take the proponents of the bill at their word that the measure is needed to increase integrity of elections because non-citizen voting decreases confidence in our elections you d expect a targeted proposal aimed at increasing enforcement with the goal of curbing the small percentage of non-citizen votes cast in any vote Instead the SAVE Act uses a bazooka to kill a gnat It prohibits state ballot representatives from registering anyone to vote in federal elections unless the person provides documentary proof of United States citizenship and produces in person either a passport or birth certificate The House voted to to encouragement the bill on April with five Democrats joining Republicans The concept is politically popular In and Gallup polls uncovered majorities of both Democratic and Republican voters aid requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote for the first time Among Republican voters help was nearly unanimous Disenfranchising voters But the SAVE Act s approach would disenfranchise large swaths of voters Its new hurdles could prevent millions of people from registering to vote Records show that preponderance of them would be married women people living in rural areas or voters serving in the armed forces groups that incidentally tend to vote for Republicans The bill is far more effective as political theater allowing the GOP s anti-immigration movement to churn out new headlines and painting Democrats as favoring open borders and voter fraud Under current federal law a person must provide either the last four digits of their Social Precaution number or their driver s license number on a voter registration application so that balloting personnel can verify their identity and eligibility to vote Under the SAVE Act the burden of proving citizenship shifts from the ruling body to the citizen Anyone who is already legally registered to vote is grandfathered in but if a voter decides to move and update their voter registration or a new voter wants to register that s when they ll have to dig out their citizenship documents If you ve lost your birth certificate replacing it can be time-consuming Fees range from to depending on the state Americans whose birth certificates don t match their driver s license will have to either obtain a marriage certificate or name-change documents to prove their identity A survey from the Pew Research Center exposed of married American women in current times have changed their surname As for using a passport only half of all American citizens have one according to statements and material disclosed by the U S Department of State Getting one costs a minimum of And that s not the end of the red tape the ordinance introduces People living in rural areas would no longer be allowed to register to vote online under the bill as is at present allowed in states but would be required to register in person Members of the armed forces won t be able to register to vote while deployed overseas And the proposal targets for elimination all voting by mail an option that a majority of Americans endorsement The bill leaves it up to the states to carve out special conditions to allow voters to prove they are who they say they are But there s no requirement that states make exceptions and no deadline for any exceptions to be in place before the midterm elections Wisconsin Republican Congressman Bryan Steil argued during a House debate that if states require people to show ID to buy a six-pack of beer why can t regime require them to show proof of citizenship to register to vote It s a good rhetorical point but the SAVE Act doesn t ask people for their driver s license or photo ID It asks for proof of citizenship that several Americans would find onerous to access Unintelligent design The measure is also redundant Since federal law has made it a crime punishable by up to five years in prison for non-citizens to register to vote or cast a ballot in federal elections States already have strict voter registration requirements and rely on citizenship evidence from the Department of Homeland Shield and the Social Precaution Administration to verify an individual s eligibility to cast a ballot And prosecutors have the authority to both investigate and punish violators As a impact instances of non-citizens registering to vote or voting have been demonstrably infrequent Related Articles Gilroy pushes back districting decision Letters New California GOP leader has her head in the sand Opinion SAVE Act insists to solve an referendum concern that doesn t exist Ballot measure to require voter ID in California eyed for After general pressure Gilroy expands districting process There s no guarantee the SAVE Act will get a hearing in the U S Senate Democrats have killed it in the past and it s unlikely to get the votes needed to avoid a filibuster Nevertheless Republicans are getting their headlines Dems fight bill to stop illegal immigrant voting despite polls showing voter endorsement read the Fox News headline on top of a story about the House s passage of the bill A legislative defeat can still be a political win and that s likely what this is all about The greater part Americans would prefer Congress to fix real problems not create more pointless red tape Mary Ellen Klas is a politics and approach columnist for Bloomberg Opinion Bloomberg L P Distributed by Tribune Content Agency