STOP THE SAVE ACT (Updated)

All Eyes on the Senate

Updated information on the SAVE America Act:

Two weeks ago I wrote about the SAVE Act, the proof of citizenship voter suppression bill that then was slated for a vote in the House of Representatives. The bill passed in the House by a vote of 218-213. Now the bill, renamed the SAVE America Act, is in the Senate.

Republicans have already amassed 50 votes for the SAVE Act in the Senate. But they need 60 Senate votes to pass the legislation because of the filibuster rule. Trump is leaning in hard and heavy on the bill’s passage, and most Republicans have closed ranks in support of the bill. But Republicans hold only 53 seats in the Senate. To get to 60 votes means they will need some Democrats to defect and vote with Republicans for passage. We already know that Sen. Fetterman in Pennsylvania is a “yes” vote for the bill.

Given the unlikelihood that the Republicans can garner 60 votes, Trump is pushing the Republicans to end the filibuster rule and pass the bill with only 51 votes. A number of Republian senators are opposed to ending the filibuster. Of course when Democrats held a majority in the Senate, all Republicans were opposed to ending the filibuster rule. But such is politics.

Will Republicans dismantle the filibuster and crater a longstanding Senate rule for this bill?All things are possible. Republicans in Congress have caved on most of Trump’s demands, save for tariffs. And freshly enraged from the Supreme Court’s rebuke of his lawless tariffs, President Trump is even more aggressively demanding a victory from Republicans on this bill. Keep your eyes on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

If ever there was a week to contact your Senator, this would be the one. You can reach your Senator at 202-224-3121.

First refresh your understanding and learn about some minor changes in what the SAVE America Act will do.

• It will restrict the forms of photo I.D. that are acceptable to vote on Election Day to a prescribed list that is more restrictive than those accepted by all but ten states. This may disproportionately affect elderly voters without driver’s licenses, students (student IDs are not on the list), and tribal members. While tribal identification may have photos, the SAVE America Act also requires that the IDs have an “expiration date.” Most tribal IDs do not include expiration dates;

• Over 20 million American citizens lack ready access to proof of citizenship. The SAVE America Act requires proof of citizenship in order to register to vote which poses unique problems for those without a passport, or a birth certificate, and for married women who have taken the surname of their husbands. Changes to the bill now would require that married women with such surname descrepancies sign an attestation swearing to the accuracy of their former name. Proof of citizenship will also be required by those who register online and by mail, something only 3 states currently require;

• the bill requires frequent purges of state voter rolls, including for so-called “inactive voters,” meaning that states can purge voters from the rolls simply because those registered voters failed to vote;

• this bill requires every state to submit their voter lists to the Department of Homeland Security, an agency that merits no confidence from the American public as to how they might handle this important data and with whom they might share it.

• the bill will increase harassment and intimidation of election officials by adding a “private right of action” allowing individuals to sue election officials who they believe has registered a non-citizen to vote, and includes criminal penalties for election officials who mistakenly register non-citizens to vote.

  Call your Senators this week at 202-224-3121. We have work to do!