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Noncitizens trying to vote in federal elections is extremely rare. A Kansas law similar to the SAVE Act blocked over 30,000, about 12 percent percent of registrants. Over 99 percent were found to be citizens, Kansas officials conceded in court.
Requiring proof of citizenship won’t increase trust in elections. Both Arizona and Wisconsin have citizenship or voter ID requirements, yet both continue to experience bogus election fraud claims.
The SAVE Act establishes criminal penalties for election officials for offenses, which could happen by mistake, and requires significant additional work without providing any funding. SAVE requirements could easily overwhelm election officials, severely strain resources, and make elections less secure by making it more difficult for officials to do their jobs.
I strongly believe that misinformation (like falsely claiming or amplifying false claims that fair elections were stolen) are much more prevalent and much greater threats to our elections and to our democracy. Evidence shows the SAVE Act is more likely to block eligible U.S. citizens from voting than prevent non-citizens from registering to vote.
I feel that people pushing citizenship voter ID laws have been manipulated (by some who want to take away eligible citizens’ right to vote in order to win elections) to believe that non-citizen voting is a rampant problem.
Sandra Merrick
Mount Vernon
