SAVE act hinders voting
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To the editor:
Is our government trying to make it harder for you to vote?
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would hinder millions of Americans in registering to vote by requiring citizens to present a birth certificate along with either a passport or a government-issued ID.
More than 21.3 million Americans lack immediate access to documentary proof of citizenship with a certified birth certificate or passport. More than 140 million Americans do not have a passport, and elderly Americans are least likely to have one.
Even more cumbersome, registering would have to be done in person. An in-person registration requirement would prevent military members serving abroad from easily registering to vote.
How is anyone with an 8 to 5 job able to go to the courthouse to register to vote? For the elderly and the disabled, going to the courthouse to register to vote would be a big obstacle.
69 million women who have taken their spouse’s last name do not have a birth certificate that matches their legal name. How will this be resolved? Will 69 million women not be able to vote? Will you have to show your marriage certificate to explain why your last name no longer matches your birth certificate? Will this force us to get a passport?
Senator Grassley once stated that the power over elections should be held at the state level. We wholeheartedly agree with this. This is an overreach of the federal government.
We have both witnessed as volunteers how elections are handled in Ringgold County. Amanda Waske does an excellent job of following state rules that govern the election. In this last election when there was a question of whether one voter was a citizen or not, that vote was not counted until proof of citizenship was met. If all the auditors in every county in Iowa are as diligent as Amanda Waske then we do not see how voter fraud could happen.
Despite unfounded claims to the contrary, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. The SAVE Act is designed to block eligible people from voting, not to protect elections. It is our opinion that all citizens should be encouraged to utilize their right to vote. Democracy should open avenues for voting, not close them.
Lynne Wallace, Mount Ayr
Sally Young, Mount Ayr