Minnesota politicians at odds over bill requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration
The U.S. House recently passed the SAVE Act, which requires proof of citizenship to vote. The bill has resulted in a heated debate on what ID requirements should be needed to vote.
"By passing the SAVE Act, House Republicans are working to ensure that only American citizens vote in American elections and voters across the political spectrum agree," U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer said.
Proof of citizenship can be made with an original birth certificate or a passport, but critics say the SAVE Act would keep millions from voting.
The U.S. government estimates 146 million Americans do not have a passport, which at its lowest price costs $130. Sixty-nine million women do not have a birth certificate with their name on it because they changed their name when they got married.
Among the leading critics of the SAVE Act is Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. He says women, especially, will have hoops to jump through.
"Sixty-nine million American women have a different last name now than when they were born. Of those, north of 20 million do not have a passport. So what does that mean? Just practically, in a common-sense way, it means that will person will likely have to produce documents in person. One will be a birth certificate, and then a second document will be a marriage record."
Emmer says Minnesota needs the SAVE Act especially badly because of new driver's license laws passed in the last few years. The laws are automatic voter registration when renewing a driver's license and a law that allows undocumented residents to get driver's licenses.
Emmer says that in Minnesota, 1,000 voter registrations were sent to people who could not legally vote. Simon says the bottom line is that noncitizens are not voting.
"There was a study by a University of St. Thomas professor last summer, so this is fresh. Ten years of Minnesota voting from 2014 to 2024: 13.3 million voters voted during that time. He found three examples of a noncitizen voting out of 13.3 million."
To become law, the SAVE Act would have to pass the U.S. Senate, and with a slim Democratic majority and 60 votes needed, that is unlikely to happen. However, the SAVE Act is moving forward in several other states. Louisiana, New Hampshire and Wyoming have all adopted proof of citizenship for voting laws.
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