Virtually every country requires a person to be a citizen to vote in national elections, and every country has a system to verify that status. In most cases, this is done through a national ID card. Yet when Republicans argue that the United States, the world’s premier democracy, should follow the same standard and require proof of citizenship to vote, they are labeled fascists, racists, Nazis, and misogynists.
Most Democrat counterarguments hinge on the claim that minorities and women lack proof of citizenship or are incapable of obtaining it. That assumption is far more racist than Republicans arguing that the United States should require voter ID.
The SAVE America Act is a Republican-backed elections bill that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and mandate photo ID to cast a ballot. The core objective of the SAVE Act is to move the voter registration system away from simple attestation, in which applicants merely sign a form swearing they are citizens, and toward a documentary proof standard.
Under the proposal, individuals registering for federal elections would be required to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in person. Acceptable documents typically include a U.S. passport, a birth certificate accompanied by a government-issued photo ID, or a naturalization certificate. Because these documents must be physically presented, the law would effectively end most mail-in and online voter registration.
It would be even better if they would bring back the “how many jelly beans are in the jar” test for voting. Never should have allowed anyone other than white male landowners to vote. Period!