Legislation
When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators. - P. J. O'Rourke
When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators. - P. J. O'Rourke
Over the last 45 years a lot of wealth has migrated from the middle class to the extremely wealthy. At the same time decisions by the Supreme Court have shifted political power to a small group of very wealthy individuals. Also, at the same time several misguided Supreme Court decisions that have outlawed campaign finance reform. Candidates are for sale to the highest bidder: few campaigns are only run on grassroots donations. Media access is just too expensive.
Eighty percent of Americans say that big donors have too much influence over Congress. Nine in 10 Americans agree that money in politics is a threat to self-government.
Kristina Ramanauskas introduced me to American Promise. American Promise is a bipartisan effort to bring sanity and honesty to campaign finance. Majorities in both parties (76% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans) believe there should be campaign spending limits. With a constitutional amendment, States and Congress would be permitted, within the law, to rein in political spending and address the influence of coercive money. Their “For Our Freedom Amendment” will help level the playing field between ordinary citizens and the immensely wealthy.
Find out more and how you can help at: https://americanpromise.net/.
This essay is intentionally lengthy. In surveying the articles about the SAVE Act, I found that all were missing important points, e.g. names of divorced women. I’m trying to be comprehensive, so if you find something I missed, let me know and I’ll add to the essay.
The myth of widespread election fraud has been a hot topic for decades within Republican party circles. Mainly, the topic is how to prevent Democrats from voting. But, surprise! This year the plan is to screw all sides out of their franchise.
HR 22, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, will require that every eligible voter provide documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. No matter that it’s already illegal for noncitizens to register to vote or cast a ballot in federal and state elections nationwide.
As an example of Republican’s desire to limit suffrage, the bill would require Service members, who surrendered their time (and perhaps their lives) in service to the country, would be required to present documentation every time they move and re-register to vote. Further, they would not be able to use their military ID alone to prove citizenship and would need additional documentation to show their birthplace or naturalization status. I believe Ole Bone Spurs won't have any problem signing this dog into law.
Families impacted by natural disasters like those in Texas (who just had their homes swept away) often lose important documentation. The SAVE Act would require them to jump through hoops to replace these documents and register to vote while also going through the traumatic process of rebuilding their lives.
Married and divorced couples and members of the trans community would also be required to secure updated documentation to register to vote. In the case of trans people the bill doesn’t indicate what name should appear on their citizenship documentation. It just requires the documentation: ‘(iii) includes the full name, date of birth, and place of birth of the applicant;’ In addition, there are an estimated 69 million American women who lack paperwork that reflects their current name.
The legislation lists several different forms of identification that can be used to provide documentary proof of citizenship, such as passports, birth certificates,
certain tribal IDs, and a few others.
However, it is ambiguous regarding what additional documentation would be accepted if those items aren’t available or don’t match someone’s name or provide information about their birthplace. As many as 140 million American citizens do not have a passport, one of the acceptable forms of proof of citizenship. This is especially true in rural areas. In West Virginia, Mississippi, and Alabama, over 70% of citizens don’t have a passport.
Plus, because documentation would need to be presented in person, the legislation would, in practice, prevent Americans from being able to register to vote by mail. It would end voter registration drives nationwide; and eliminate online voter registration overnight—a service 42 states rely on. Americans would need to appear in person, with original documentation, to even simply update their voter registration information for a change of address or change in party affiliation. These impacts alone would set voter registration sophistication and technology back by decades and would be unworkable for millions of Americans, especially the more than 60 million people who live in rural areas. Additionally, driver’s licenses—including REAL IDs—as well as military or tribal IDs would not be sufficient forms of documentation to prove citizenship under the legislation.
In short, the SAVE Act is disastrous legislation that would drastically alter the way every American citizen registers to vote. The legislation completely disregards the resources available to most Americans
Despite these overwhelming facts and the real possibility that millions of Americans — Republicans, Democrats, and independents — could be disenfranchised, leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives has declared that passing the legislation is one of their top priorities for the 119th Congress.
It should also be noted that there are already documentation requirements to be able to register to vote. As required by federal law, Americans must provide either the last four digits of their Social Security number or their driver’s license number on a voter registration application in order to provide election officials with the necessary information to verify their identity and voting eligibility. The SAVE Act seeks to upend this process and turn a relatively well-oiled system—where officials are tasked with the work of verification—and, instead, make every single American citizen put in the work, time, and resources to exercise their constitutional right to vote and convince the government that they’re eligible.
Address changes could be significantly impacted, too. Instead of your registration automatically updating when, for instance, you change your driver’s license address online, you might have to bring your passport or birth certificate to an election agency office to update your voter registration.
The good news is, the Senate didn't pass HR 22, and division in the Senate makes it look unlikely to pass. But only unlikely. But some states are seeking to pass their own versions of The Act. There are currently 52 bills introduced in 24 states to impose or expand proof of citizenship requirements.
On March 17, lawmakers in the Pennsylvania General Assembly introduced House Bill 771, a harmful and unnecessary measure that threatens to unduly burden voters, election administrators, and poll workers by imposing burdensome new voter ID and paperwork requirements at the polls. If passed, this legislation would create confusion at the polls, create longer long wait times, and place greater administrative burdens on already overextended election officials.
"HB 771 creates unnecessary obstacles to voting for voters across Pennsylvania. This bill does nothing to improve election security but instead creates barriers that will discourage eligible voters from participating in our democracy. Pennsylvania voters deserve a system that is fair, accessible, and free from unnecessary obstacles—not one that makes it harder to exercise our fundamental right to vote,"
So, it isn’t over yet. All voters, particularly Democratic voters, should tell their legislators at both Federal and State levels that the bills’ intent is already covered by existing statutes, and that the bills as they exist place an unnecessary burden on voters. Voter participation is already at 50% or below. To reduce it in a democracy by an unnecessary statute is criminal!
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/01/us/capitol-rioters-non-voters-invs
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-save-act-would-disenfranchise-millions-of-citizens/
https://campaignlegal.org/update/what-you-need-know-about-save-act
https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/9-things-to-know-about-the-proposed-save-act
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/22/text
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/07/12/voter-turnout-2018-2022/
https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/2025/hb771