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The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act was recently passed by the House and now heads to the Senate, backed by the full support of Trump’s administration.

It would require that your state ID match the name on your birth certificate when you register to vote.

Birth certificates do not get updated when you change your name. Nearly 70 million American women have changed their name through marriage. I took my husband’s name when we married and easily updated my Social Security card and driver’s license.

To update my birth certificate, I would have to pay money to schedule a birth certificate amendment court hearing in the California county where I was born. I’d have to pay to publish a just cause notice in a California newspaper. I might be required to attend the court hearing in person. If the judge approves (not guaranteed), then I would pay for the amended birth certificate and wait up to 16 weeks for delivery.

The court systems are already overworked. They don’t have enough time and extra judges to hold hearings for the roughly 73 million Americans who would need an amended birth certificate to register to vote. It’s a logistical nightmare.

Just getting a passport sounds easier, right? To get a passport when the name on your birth certificate doesn’t match your state-issued ID, you can just bring the documents that explain the change. That is good enough for a passport, but not good enough to register to vote, according to the pending SAVE Act.

What about the first-time passport’s $165 fee? That’s a financial hardship for many households. (Plus the $35 execution fee at the post office and the $60 expedited processing fee, if you need it to arrive on time.)

On May 7, state ID cards will be upgraded to the REAL ID, in compliance with federal flight regulations. Documents needed for REAL ID are A) a passport or B) birth certificate or green card, marriage license, social security card or W2 form, and two proofs of current residency.

The documents for passports and REAL ID are not easily accessible to all, such as victims of domestic violence, the homeless and those affected by fires or natural disasters.

The percentage of voter fraud in America is estimated at .0003%. Just 475 people were charged with fraudulent voting in 2020.

I can’t help but compare the SAVE Act to the Jim Crow laws. The passport was once primarily used for international travel documentation. It would be transformed into a modern poll tax on people who struggle to afford it. The SAVE Act wouldn’t solve a widespread problem, but it would act as a voter suppression law for 73 million voters.

If 73 million people must purchase a passport to vote, that’s over $12 billion in new revenue for the State department paid by American citizens.

As they say, “If you see something, say something.” If you believe this law infringes our right to vote, contact your representatives.

Bethany Greiner
Albert Lea