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STOP THE "SAVE" ACT [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-04-27

This is my first ever story on dailykos. It’s about H.R.22, the so-called SAVE act, sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX-21). It is a flat-out voter suppression bill.

The SAVE Act H. R 22 sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX-21)

The bill requires individuals to provide documentary proof of US citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. It also establishes criminal penalties for certain offenses, including registering an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of US citizenship.

Many of us are feeling helpless and wondering what we can do to stop Trump’s insanity. Here is something that you all can do. It is an action—an easy one—that we can all take.

Please contact your senators and representatives, including those in the GOP. Let them know what hoops you would have to jump through in order to comply with the proposed law: time, cost of required documents, hassle. We need to stop this bill in its tracks.

I put together a list of issues. It includes everything I could think of.

Issues.

The bill requires a person to submit identification that complies with the REAL ID Act of 2005. REAL ID’s are provided by the various states. The procedure varies from state to state and, in many cases, the procedure for obtaining supporting documents has changed through the years. There are various fees required by the various states. (Are these various fees poll taxes?) In addition to the fee for the actual REAL ID card, there are additional fees for obtaining proof of identity documents such as certified birth and marriage certificates. The time between request and delivery of a REAL ID and the required certified certificates varies. Online requests are quicker, but mail-in requests take longer. In Oregon where I live, for example, the wait for a REAL ID in April 2025 is 20 days. It is reasonable to assume that the wait time will increase as we approach voter registration deadlines. Oregon has 3,062,126 registered voters. California currently has 22,900,896 registered voters. If the SAVE law goes into effect, each of those voters will be required to go to the county clerk and submit their documents. Some states process birth and marriage certificate requests through their own agencies such as Departments of Health or Departments of Vital Records. Other states use commercial products such as Vitalchex, which charge additional fees. Some states hold vital records at the state level. Other states hold them at the county level. A problem with the states that hold the records at the county level is that additional counties have been created over the years and county boundaries may have shifted over the years. This creates an additional burden in finding the needed record. Official records may contain errors. For example, as my family’s historian, I have tried to ascertain birth years. One fellow, (name redacted), was listed in the 1910 census as 22 years-old, which would mean he was born circa 1888. His marriage certificate in 1924 lists his age as 30 years old, which would mean he was born circa 1894. His WW I and WW II draft registration cards and his death certificate list his birth year as 1890. Another problem with this person is that at some point he changed his surname. There is no official record of that change. These, of course, are old documents, but the fact that human errors continue to occur has not changed. Thus, a person whose original document contains an error bears the additional burden of straightening that out—with all of its additional fees and delays. Official records may have been damaged or destroyed (floods and fires), gone missing, been lost or misfiled or may never have been created (home births). Obtaining the needed records is the responsibility of the voter. Verifying the validity of the records is the burden, under the threat of criminal penalty, of the county clerks and their deputies. This will require new systems and new training. It is difficult to imagine how these clerks and their deputies could accurately validate all of the documents, from all of the states and countries, needed to verify a voter’s citizenship. Who in their right mind would put themselves in such a risky situation?

Personal example. I live in Oregon. I have had one name change only. Here is what I would have to do if I didn't have a passport.

i would have to get a REAL ID. In Oregon I would have to visit the DMV. The fee for the REAL ID is $30. Wait time is currently (April 2025) 20 days.

Requirements: I would need to bring one proof of identity and two proofs of address.

As a proof of identity, I would need an official birth certificate and official marriage certificate (name change).

I was born in New York State. The online fee in New York for a birth certificate is $45. They use a vendor, Vitalchex which requires an $8.00 fee per transaction. So the total is $53.00. If I want UPS expedited delivery, there is an additional fee of $15.50 which brings the total to $74.50.

I was married in Washoe County, Nevada, Marriage records in Nevada are maintained in the various counties. To obtain a certified marriage certificate online from Washoe County the fee is $6.50 total. I do not know what the wait time is. A request by mail costs $15.00 and the wait time is 10-15 working days.

Another example. At yesterday’s Senator Wyden/ Representative Hoyle town hall meeting, I sat next to a woman from the area. (Sadly, I didn’t get her contact info so this example is in the hearsay category.) In the course of our conversation, she mentioned that she had been married and divorced three times. In other words, she had three name changes. Further, she told me that she relies on her social security income and that, without that, she would be living on the street. Further, she told me that she has macular degeneration and cannot read.

April 27, 2025

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/4/27/2319135/-STOP-THE-SAVE-ACT?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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