Please also note that for those of us who live abroad (including the military), this insane "SAVE" Act will require us to register and vote in person. That disenfranchises everyone who cannot afford to travel back to the US, not once, but TWICE in an election year. Thankfully, it does seem that they'll be hard-pressed to get this approved in the Senate. Still, we have to fight it.
You are incorrect. Not only does is take the vote aways from those of us who can't come to the polls in person because we live overseas, it will eliminate voting by mail.
It IS and cruelty is the point--like with the masked thugs shooting Americans & taking 2 and 5 year olds to a TX prison. Agent Orange wants to win at any cost now, and does not care if he hurts our military or diplomats posted overseas. wake UP!
It addresses voter registration for federal elections, not how ballots are cast once someone is registered.
If passed, it would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering (or re-registering) to vote in federal elections.
It does not:
• Ban absentee voting
• Ban overseas voting
• Ban mail ballots
• Eliminate ballot drop boxes
• Prohibit voting from abroad
Overseas citizens can still vote under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). The SAVE Act would affect how citizenship is verified at registration — not whether ballots can be mailed.
The only way it would impact someone overseas is if they were newly registering or required to re-register and needed to provide documentary proof of citizenship.
That’s a registration requirement — not a mail ballot ban.
Saying it “eliminates voting by mail” is simply not what the bill text does.
Let's try to be truthful and not speculate because of severe TDS.
The only item that you fail to mention is: what is the purpose of this SAVE Act. Voter fraud has been proven (including by the Heritage Foundation) to be vanishingly small. This is an attempt at voter suppression. End of story.
Thank you for sharing this ACCURATE information. There is so much dis- or mis-information about the SAVE America ACT that is causing unnecessary fears that I worry that it will cause lower turnout more because of the dis- or mis-information than because of the bill itself.
Absolutely! My wife and I have lived in Ireland for the past three years. Fortunately, we're still able to vote by mail. We'll see how long that lasts. :(
I have dual Irish/US citizenship through the foreign births program. I had hoped to relocate to County Cork three years ago but family matters intervened.
I hope life in Erie is working well for you both. Slán abhaile
I joke, but in all seriousness, if SAVE passes, I'm going to be very busy helping elderly and minority voters here in the rural deep south maintain their right to vote, perhaps right up to the deadline.
Hopefully a couple of GOP Senators will see SAVE for what it is...a POLL TAX.
Voting 🗳️ should be compulsory, as it is in Australia 🇦🇺, you can spoil your vote, it is your choice! They have the right idea, America is regressing to stopping a women’s right to vote!
This isn't about Ireland, but I live in the Netherlands, and have dual citizenship with Italy & the US. I can vote in Dutch elections as well as Italian ones (although for Italy, I would have to travel there to vote, but they subsidize the travel costs).
Yes, that's extremely disturbing. The bitter irony is that the author of that bill, Sen. Bernie Moreno, is an immigrant, having been born in Colombia. Go figure.
I'm shocked to realize that what I thought I'd choose if faced with that has changed because too many US citizens are so full of hatred for other humans that they can't seem to control their impulses anymore.
Wow. I do have dual citizenship, but I have not been to Ireland yet. Planning a trip there soon--it is my refuge ace in the hole to get out of Looneyland!
Exactly. All Americans abroad are able to vote thanks to UOCAVA, so this bill flies in the face of that. Also, we pay taxes and, last I checked, taxation without representation isn't a thing in the United States. ;)
I also live abroad, and I can imagine an amendment that says, “US military can use pre-existing registration but other people have to register anew in person every time.” Quite a penalty if you live in England and are registered in California - never mind that I already have a passport!
Thank you. This whole thing is insane. It’s exhausting when you wake up every morning to face a new challenge. Lest yee get too optimistic, there will be another by nightfall.
And might it not leave Americans living abroad vulnerable to (illegal) ICE detention if they enter the USA from another country? Particularly if they are travelling at election time.
@Marian Vitale, I agree with you that there does seem to be wording that requires in-person voter registration. Fortunately, one does not need to register annually. If you are already registered, you do not need to register again. So, if you are living abroad, register now if you are not already register and vote in every election so that you stay active on the voter registration rolls, just in case this Act does pass. In case you are not aware, living abroad, your last U.S. address is your voting address, so you can vote in all elections - local, state, and federal. For more information go to: https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/living-abroad/voting.html
In regards to mail in voting, the SAVE America Act does have a provision for mail in voting:
S. 1383, Sec. 3303.A (a) (2) Individuals voting other than in person.— (A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided in subparagraph (B), the appropriate State or local election official may not accept any ballot for an election for Federal office provided by an individual who votes other than in person unless the individual submits with the ballot--(i) a copy of a valid photo identification; or (ii) the last four digits of the individual's Social Security number and an affidavit developed and made available to the individual by the State attesting that the individual is unable to obtain a copy of a valid photo identification after making reasonable efforts to obtain such a copy. (B) Exceptions.--Subparagraph (A) does not apply with respect to a ballot provided by--(i) an absent uniformed services voter, as defined in section 107(1) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20310(1)); or (ii) an individual provided the right to vote otherwise than in person under section 3(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. 20102(b)(2)(B)(ii)).
Some states do require one to register every year. This varies state-by-state. I'm an active member of Democrats Abroad, and we recommend that everyone go to votefromabroad.org to get up-to-date information on registering in every state. We are collectively fighting very hard against this bill, as we don't trust anything the government is trying to do at this point.
I commend your efforts and those of Democrats Abroad. Can you share which states require annual voter registration, please. Also, I'd to chat more about Democrats Abroad as I would like to become involved in that group.
That does not apply to voters abroad. That's why I referred you to votefromabroad.org, which has the requirements by state for those of us living abroad. I assume you're living abroad, if you joined DA? Check the state you vote in to be sure you've got the correct info.
The Republicans may not like the results of their evil maneuvering. Lots of women will be telling their daughters not to change their names, and there goes marriage sanctity! I say that as someone who never changed her name so I think it’s a great thing. The second thing, however, is that the people who can afford a passport are typically more highly educated and likely vote Democrat. So the people who can’t, are likely to be MAGA voters. Kind of stupid if you ask me.
I agree with you about those with higher education tend to vote Democrat. However, I think this act is targeting Black people and immigrants who also tend to not have passports and vote liberal. Once again, white men of privilege are trying to disenfranchise people of color.
Also, older people who no longer drive and or travel out of the country may not renew their licenses or passports. I had to help my 98 year old uncle get a state ID card just so he could ride on a plane. Expired licenses and passports weren't acceptable even though they were photo IDs.
My blind, completely disabled mother in assisted living almost certainly doesn't have a county birth certificate nor a passport or REAL ID. So boom, with SAVE act she just won't be able to vote!
Multiplied by every skilled nursing, assisted living, and any other facility of seniors or disabled folks across the country which is a damn lot of voters!
Perhaps you have never been a caregiver for an elderly or disabled American. Many people have no family to help them. Skilled nursing facilities don't have the staff or time to help people get ID documents for voting. They often don't have enough staff to adequately take care of their patients' medical needs.
Your point about those who vote Democrat are more likely to have passports would be an interesting research project. I was thinking the same thing as I read. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all!
As for the last name thing for women, I am trying to remember if, in the state of AZ I had to present my marriage certificate when I got my ID. I had a passport with my married name as I already had the passport, so maybe that made the difference? I used it in place of my birth certificate.
In the UK the last Tory government insisted on requiring photo voter ID to be produced at the polling station in time for the last general election in 2024. As in the US there is precious little evidence of fraudulent voting in the UK, but that was ignored.
Fortunately it was not as tortuous a process as it threatens to be in the US, but nonetheless it was estimated that as many as 2 million people (5% of the electorate) might lack the ability to vote. In the event research shows that 0.5% of those who turned up
at a polling station were refused due to lacking appropriate ID, and 2% who believed they didn’t have the correct ID didn’t bother to turn up at all.
Whether coincidentally or not the turnout for that GE was the lowest for nearly 100 years. But some good news, the Tories took one hell of a beating.
One January 29th the two Republican sponsors of the SAVE Act "improved" the Act by requiring a photo ID to vote, in addition to proof of citizenship in order to register. This will disenfranchise millions of voters---everyone without the required documents. Ironically, the most likely voters to have their birth certificate and passport handy are better educated people from blue states. This law could backfire completely if it passes the Senate!
And we know how stupid they are. This is scary and infuriating. Should we call every Republican in Congress? Someone put a list out. It’s pretty ridiculous when Republican women hold a congressional seat and then vote against themselves voting.
I wish I had known in 1976 that there was a choice in that decision. It was just done. Every woman who married had to do it and again if they ever got remarried. I've been married only once and still am. But if I had it to do over again, I'd go back to my birth certificate name. I was so infuriated when I went to the DMV to get the new ID as if I was posing as someone else. I tried to remain polite but it was difficult.
I was in the halls of Congress yesterday, advocating for affordable housing in both houses and with both sides of the aisle. All the while, the spectacle of the Bondi charade and the SAVE vote were occurring. Yet one would never know. The veneer of cordiality and institutional comportment is strong. We need more light.
Thank you for your advocacy! The last election showed that the shortage of affordable housing is now a nationwide issue for renters and homebuyers. No longer confined to high cost areas and poor people
Isn’t this part of their Project 2025 plan to remake our democracy? Getting rid of poor people & pesky women voters has been one of their aims all along.
What a mess! I never understood why so few of my American friends had passports - that price explains a lot! If you don't mind a foreigner giving some advice - the USA has to get rid of the Republicans.
The USA is not a perfect nation; which one is? But your history is filled with honourable struggle and heroes of humanity. I look at all those marches, all the protests in Minneapolis, and the struggle to get the Trump-Epstein files made public, and i have faith in the ability of Americans to win this struggle. Don't give up the ship!
Try living in Australia! Our passports cost $422. That is $299.23 US dollars. And, I would be screwed with this SAVE Act too, I don't have a passport either. This is quite a common thing.
All voter ID laws make voting much harder for women than men, since men rarely change their name. Republicans intentionally make voting harder for women, since more women vote for Democrats.
One of the many reasons a lot of women stopped changing their last names when they married was to not lose their birth ‘identity’. I guess some of us were prescient, but it’s also cultural for people who have roots in other parts of the world. Perhaps this practice will return as it seems to have become less common in the last 10-20 years.
This law is nothing more than a voter disenfranchisement policy, and the people who are the targets are women, immigrants and people who live in poverty (which is mostly the first 2 categories of people actually). Yet another depraved step in the Project 2025 attack on our society.
To further drive home what you're saying, roughly 146 million Americans don’t have passports. And more than 70 million women in the US have a different surname than the one listed on their birth certificate. Plus, millions of Americans can’t readily access paper copies of their birth certificate. This comically misnamed law is yet another GOP-driven voter suppression measure disguised as a means to preserve election integrity.
I am fortunate enough to have a notarized copy of my original birth certificate that my mother gave me way back in the 1970s. My state DMV almost rejected it! It had to undergo further screening (all electronically) by some office in the state capital. I don't know what I could have used instead if it had been rejected.
I believe you would have had to obtain a certified copy of the original birth certificate from the records office of the state you were born in, bearing the official State seal. Time consuming, and expensive.
Thanks for highlighting this, Jess. Now imagine being Native American, living on a Reservation with no street address in addition to the marriage license and birth certificate hassles. Oh wait, they want to cancel vote by mail. That cuts off active duty military and rural and remote voters. We cannot allow this to continue.
At this point in my life and after serving in the Navy for 16 years plus having voted in every election since Reagan - I think, if the SAVE act somehow passes, I would have to show up on election day and demand a ballot. The burden of proof to say I'm not eligible to vote would fall on whomever was making that claim - not me. And to stop me they would have to arrest me; a disabled Gulf War veteran (I might even wear my old uniform).
We've all paid our dues; over an over again. Fuck these fascists.
What is also frustrating about the REAL ID process is that it's arbitrarily enforced by whatever DMV employee you get. My friend had a similar experience to yours, which made me bring way more paperwork than I probably needed when it came time to get my REAL ID because the St. Joe DMV always takes forever and I didn't want to have to come back.
I too have been married twice, so I brought the usual documents, plus both certified marriage licenses, my divorce judgment showing approval to return to my maiden name, my social security card with my maiden name, etc. This took a while to gather and the DMV employee barely looked at my documents, and certainly didn't look at my license/divorce decree from my first marriage.
Thankfully I didn't have to order any of those documents (I'm a paperwork goblin), but I would have been mad if I had spent money on documents they didn't even look at but told us were required. It also begs the question of if the process is open to discrimination - will they possibly profile some people and demand these documents of them, when they don't of others?
Jess, having recently helped my 87 year old mother get her Real ID so she could fly, I have nothing but sympathy for your journey. My father passed many years ago and she is happily remarried, but we still had to come up with an embossed copy of her 1950s marriage license.
Yep, you nailed it, Jess! It just proves that the only way the Repugnites can "win" elections is by restricting the vote (or by cheating.) It's been shown time and again that actual voter fraud is extremely rare, as is non-citizen voting. The name-change business is particularly galling, and ridiculous. The Repugnites want to go back to white male property owners voting and no one else. I remember some old high-school classmates of mine, several of whom were married women, trumpeting loudly during the Biden administration that "gas prices have increased by such-and-such since 2020, and WE VOTE, so WATCH OUT!" If this heinous act should pass the Senate, some of them won't be voting for much longer. I wonder if they're aware of that.
The outpouring of comments in less than an hour your post appeared is a testament to the level of evil that MAGA has brought upon our nation.
Jess, you got away cheap getting your real ID (which I thought Mo. had rejected).
A friend, divorced and remarried years ago, had to gather her birth certificate from Indiana, marriage licenses from two states and then replace both her current Real ID and passport. The process took more than 4 months and cost more than $500. BTW The Fascist more than doubled the cost of obtaining a passport during his first regime.
Please also note that for those of us who live abroad (including the military), this insane "SAVE" Act will require us to register and vote in person. That disenfranchises everyone who cannot afford to travel back to the US, not once, but TWICE in an election year. Thankfully, it does seem that they'll be hard-pressed to get this approved in the Senate. Still, we have to fight it.
I didn’t know this information but I appreciate you passing it along. That is going to impact so many people.
Yes! We at Democrats Abroad are doing our best to get the word out (and making sure people go to votefromabroad.org and get registered ASAP.
Try telling the truth. It is much more effective.
Also, I'm a native New Yorker but both of my adult children and my grandchild live in St. Louis, so I very much appreciate your Missouri perspective!
Solidarity, friend
It is not true
You are incorrect. Not only does is take the vote aways from those of us who can't come to the polls in person because we live overseas, it will eliminate voting by mail.
Exactly.
I am glad you corrected the propagandist. Why do people bother to lie when it is so easy to disprove them? Don't they know it makes them look foolish?
"Person" who has posts on their feed about ending white guilt says what? lol
It IS and cruelty is the point--like with the masked thugs shooting Americans & taking 2 and 5 year olds to a TX prison. Agent Orange wants to win at any cost now, and does not care if he hurts our military or diplomats posted overseas. wake UP!
The SAVE Act does not eliminate voting by mail.
It addresses voter registration for federal elections, not how ballots are cast once someone is registered.
If passed, it would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering (or re-registering) to vote in federal elections.
It does not:
• Ban absentee voting
• Ban overseas voting
• Ban mail ballots
• Eliminate ballot drop boxes
• Prohibit voting from abroad
Overseas citizens can still vote under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). The SAVE Act would affect how citizenship is verified at registration — not whether ballots can be mailed.
The only way it would impact someone overseas is if they were newly registering or required to re-register and needed to provide documentary proof of citizenship.
That’s a registration requirement — not a mail ballot ban.
Saying it “eliminates voting by mail” is simply not what the bill text does.
Let's try to be truthful and not speculate because of severe TDS.
Except that Trump has now said that mail-in ballots will not be allowed. So that's a little "addendum" to the Act.
I read the SAVE act myself and you seem to summarize it well. The last line was unnecessary.
The only item that you fail to mention is: what is the purpose of this SAVE Act. Voter fraud has been proven (including by the Heritage Foundation) to be vanishingly small. This is an attempt at voter suppression. End of story.
Thank you for sharing this ACCURATE information. There is so much dis- or mis-information about the SAVE America ACT that is causing unnecessary fears that I worry that it will cause lower turnout more because of the dis- or mis-information than because of the bill itself.
Take your agitprop BS elsewhere, bish.
Absolutely! My wife and I have lived in Ireland for the past three years. Fortunately, we're still able to vote by mail. We'll see how long that lasts. :(
I have dual Irish/US citizenship through the foreign births program. I had hoped to relocate to County Cork three years ago but family matters intervened.
I hope life in Erie is working well for you both. Slán abhaile
I love Ireland 🇮🇪 My husband almost had to force me to leave and come back to the states.
Just curious: do you have dual citizenship? Are you able to vote in elections in Ireland?
I have dual citizenship, which entitles me to vote for feckless idiots in two countries.
I'm so tired of voting for those utterly deficient in FECK!!!
I joke, but in all seriousness, if SAVE passes, I'm going to be very busy helping elderly and minority voters here in the rural deep south maintain their right to vote, perhaps right up to the deadline.
Hopefully a couple of GOP Senators will see SAVE for what it is...a POLL TAX.
OMG--Love It !!!
Voting 🗳️ should be compulsory, as it is in Australia 🇦🇺, you can spoil your vote, it is your choice! They have the right idea, America is regressing to stopping a women’s right to vote!
🤷♀️😖😡🤐🤬😢❌😤🗳️🙅♂️🇺🇸🤦♀️
You are showing your ignorance. Be better.
This isn't about Ireland, but I live in the Netherlands, and have dual citizenship with Italy & the US. I can vote in Dutch elections as well as Italian ones (although for Italy, I would have to travel there to vote, but they subsidize the travel costs).
Amazing! There are still countries that actually encourage voting!
Yup! And here in the Netherlands, you can literally vote at the grocery store.
I want to live there!
Dual citizenship is under attack as well. A TX rep has introduced a bill that would require Americans with dual citizenship to choose one.
Groan. Texas--it figures.
Texans should have passports to travel to the rear of the United States
Yes, that's extremely disturbing. The bitter irony is that the author of that bill, Sen. Bernie Moreno, is an immigrant, having been born in Colombia. Go figure.
Good luck, Melania and Barron!
I'm shocked to realize that what I thought I'd choose if faced with that has changed because too many US citizens are so full of hatred for other humans that they can't seem to control their impulses anymore.
A great idea!
Not yet--haven't been here long enough. I'm allowed to vote in local elections here, nonetheless.
Wow. I do have dual citizenship, but I have not been to Ireland yet. Planning a trip there soon--it is my refuge ace in the hole to get out of Looneyland!
That’s an important point, because affecting the military is something Republicans don’t want to be seen doing.
Exactly. All Americans abroad are able to vote thanks to UOCAVA, so this bill flies in the face of that. Also, we pay taxes and, last I checked, taxation without representation isn't a thing in the United States. ;)
Except in DC
Which is completely unfair. I keep hoping enough people will raise enough of a stink to get that changed.
Well, it USED to not be...
I also live abroad, and I can imagine an amendment that says, “US military can use pre-existing registration but other people have to register anew in person every time.” Quite a penalty if you live in England and are registered in California - never mind that I already have a passport!
But if there's no voting by mail, they'd have to make THAT exception for the military as well, and we haven't seen any evidence of that.
I believe T has just said it in one of his verbal rambles….
That is just awful. I am so sorry we have a government that does this to you.
Thank you. This whole thing is insane. It’s exhausting when you wake up every morning to face a new challenge. Lest yee get too optimistic, there will be another by nightfall.
Correct. Military folks will be excluded. And of course, they are knocking out mail in ballots too so again, no overseas folks.
And might it not leave Americans living abroad vulnerable to (illegal) ICE detention if they enter the USA from another country? Particularly if they are travelling at election time.
What! That is insane! More than the other insanity, Does that include the military?
Yes, Marian, too true. Please pass it on:
Your Senator's, 2 per state, can be reached at: @Lastname.senate.gov (our Reps are: @Lastname.House.gov.
Or, you may call them at: (202) 224-3121
@Marian Vitale, I agree with you that there does seem to be wording that requires in-person voter registration. Fortunately, one does not need to register annually. If you are already registered, you do not need to register again. So, if you are living abroad, register now if you are not already register and vote in every election so that you stay active on the voter registration rolls, just in case this Act does pass. In case you are not aware, living abroad, your last U.S. address is your voting address, so you can vote in all elections - local, state, and federal. For more information go to: https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/living-abroad/voting.html
In regards to mail in voting, the SAVE America Act does have a provision for mail in voting:
S. 1383, Sec. 3303.A (a) (2) Individuals voting other than in person.— (A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided in subparagraph (B), the appropriate State or local election official may not accept any ballot for an election for Federal office provided by an individual who votes other than in person unless the individual submits with the ballot--(i) a copy of a valid photo identification; or (ii) the last four digits of the individual's Social Security number and an affidavit developed and made available to the individual by the State attesting that the individual is unable to obtain a copy of a valid photo identification after making reasonable efforts to obtain such a copy. (B) Exceptions.--Subparagraph (A) does not apply with respect to a ballot provided by--(i) an absent uniformed services voter, as defined in section 107(1) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20310(1)); or (ii) an individual provided the right to vote otherwise than in person under section 3(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. 20102(b)(2)(B)(ii)).
See: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1383/text/eah?format=txt
Some states do require one to register every year. This varies state-by-state. I'm an active member of Democrats Abroad, and we recommend that everyone go to votefromabroad.org to get up-to-date information on registering in every state. We are collectively fighting very hard against this bill, as we don't trust anything the government is trying to do at this point.
I commend your efforts and those of Democrats Abroad. Can you share which states require annual voter registration, please. Also, I'd to chat more about Democrats Abroad as I would like to become involved in that group.
Sorry, I don’t know all the states’ requirements. You can go to democratsabroad.org to join.
Marian, I did a little research and per this article there are no states that require annual voter registration: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-often-register-vote-2024/ I hope this information helps as you work with Democrats Abroad. And, thank you for the link, I have joined democratsabroad.org.
That does not apply to voters abroad. That's why I referred you to votefromabroad.org, which has the requirements by state for those of us living abroad. I assume you're living abroad, if you joined DA? Check the state you vote in to be sure you've got the correct info.
The Republicans may not like the results of their evil maneuvering. Lots of women will be telling their daughters not to change their names, and there goes marriage sanctity! I say that as someone who never changed her name so I think it’s a great thing. The second thing, however, is that the people who can afford a passport are typically more highly educated and likely vote Democrat. So the people who can’t, are likely to be MAGA voters. Kind of stupid if you ask me.
I agree with you about those with higher education tend to vote Democrat. However, I think this act is targeting Black people and immigrants who also tend to not have passports and vote liberal. Once again, white men of privilege are trying to disenfranchise people of color.
Also, older people who no longer drive and or travel out of the country may not renew their licenses or passports. I had to help my 98 year old uncle get a state ID card just so he could ride on a plane. Expired licenses and passports weren't acceptable even though they were photo IDs.
Many people who have medical conditions - no driver’s license, not able to work or travel will not be able to vote.
My blind, completely disabled mother in assisted living almost certainly doesn't have a county birth certificate nor a passport or REAL ID. So boom, with SAVE act she just won't be able to vote!
Multiplied by every skilled nursing, assisted living, and any other facility of seniors or disabled folks across the country which is a damn lot of voters!
Blatantly false. People in this thread are not being truthful.
Perhaps you have never been a caregiver for an elderly or disabled American. Many people have no family to help them. Skilled nursing facilities don't have the staff or time to help people get ID documents for voting. They often don't have enough staff to adequately take care of their patients' medical needs.
Don’t worry, they’ll pass an act making it mandatory for women to change their names on marriage.
So, as in Japan women will simply not marry.
Ok by me. I doubt the “morality police” will approve though.
I doubt some will be given a choice, in less well affluent areas
Your point about those who vote Democrat are more likely to have passports would be an interesting research project. I was thinking the same thing as I read. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all!
As for the last name thing for women, I am trying to remember if, in the state of AZ I had to present my marriage certificate when I got my ID. I had a passport with my married name as I already had the passport, so maybe that made the difference? I used it in place of my birth certificate.
In the UK the last Tory government insisted on requiring photo voter ID to be produced at the polling station in time for the last general election in 2024. As in the US there is precious little evidence of fraudulent voting in the UK, but that was ignored.
Fortunately it was not as tortuous a process as it threatens to be in the US, but nonetheless it was estimated that as many as 2 million people (5% of the electorate) might lack the ability to vote. In the event research shows that 0.5% of those who turned up
at a polling station were refused due to lacking appropriate ID, and 2% who believed they didn’t have the correct ID didn’t bother to turn up at all.
Whether coincidentally or not the turnout for that GE was the lowest for nearly 100 years. But some good news, the Tories took one hell of a beating.
One January 29th the two Republican sponsors of the SAVE Act "improved" the Act by requiring a photo ID to vote, in addition to proof of citizenship in order to register. This will disenfranchise millions of voters---everyone without the required documents. Ironically, the most likely voters to have their birth certificate and passport handy are better educated people from blue states. This law could backfire completely if it passes the Senate!
And we know how stupid they are. This is scary and infuriating. Should we call every Republican in Congress? Someone put a list out. It’s pretty ridiculous when Republican women hold a congressional seat and then vote against themselves voting.
Good points. Beth. Trump and fools never consider consequences.
Good points, some I hadn't considered.
Good point! But 🤫 let’s not tell the GOP.
I wish I had known in 1976 that there was a choice in that decision. It was just done. Every woman who married had to do it and again if they ever got remarried. I've been married only once and still am. But if I had it to do over again, I'd go back to my birth certificate name. I was so infuriated when I went to the DMV to get the new ID as if I was posing as someone else. I tried to remain polite but it was difficult.
I am one of the privileged older
I was in the halls of Congress yesterday, advocating for affordable housing in both houses and with both sides of the aisle. All the while, the spectacle of the Bondi charade and the SAVE vote were occurring. Yet one would never know. The veneer of cordiality and institutional comportment is strong. We need more light.
Keep pushing Jess. Be a beacon of light.
Thank you for your advocacy! The last election showed that the shortage of affordable housing is now a nationwide issue for renters and homebuyers. No longer confined to high cost areas and poor people
Isn’t this part of their Project 2025 plan to remake our democracy? Getting rid of poor people & pesky women voters has been one of their aims all along.
Yes!
Yes, and especially black women.
One man and one woman, married with children, vote as a household. One vote only, made by the husband.
What a mess! I never understood why so few of my American friends had passports - that price explains a lot! If you don't mind a foreigner giving some advice - the USA has to get rid of the Republicans.
The USA is not a perfect nation; which one is? But your history is filled with honourable struggle and heroes of humanity. I look at all those marches, all the protests in Minneapolis, and the struggle to get the Trump-Epstein files made public, and i have faith in the ability of Americans to win this struggle. Don't give up the ship!
Try living in Australia! Our passports cost $422. That is $299.23 US dollars. And, I would be screwed with this SAVE Act too, I don't have a passport either. This is quite a common thing.
It's a poll tax and it's illegal. Call your Senators today and remind them that women vote. Vote No on the SAVE act.
And the SAVE America act will not accept Real ID at the polls unless it indicates citizenship, which only a few states include on Real ID. Diabolical!
Only Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington...
Ohio accepts
Hi Roger, you might want to see if this has been updated this year:
"Ohio’s existing Real ID does not meet the citizenship verification requirement outlined in the federal SAVE Act."
https://bgindependentmedia.org/real-id-does-not-verify-citizenship/
You are correct! I am sorry.
No worries, we live in confusing and ever-changing times!
I was wrong Ohio does not accept!
False!!!
All voter ID laws make voting much harder for women than men, since men rarely change their name. Republicans intentionally make voting harder for women, since more women vote for Democrats.
One of the many reasons a lot of women stopped changing their last names when they married was to not lose their birth ‘identity’. I guess some of us were prescient, but it’s also cultural for people who have roots in other parts of the world. Perhaps this practice will return as it seems to have become less common in the last 10-20 years.
This law is nothing more than a voter disenfranchisement policy, and the people who are the targets are women, immigrants and people who live in poverty (which is mostly the first 2 categories of people actually). Yet another depraved step in the Project 2025 attack on our society.
🎯
To further drive home what you're saying, roughly 146 million Americans don’t have passports. And more than 70 million women in the US have a different surname than the one listed on their birth certificate. Plus, millions of Americans can’t readily access paper copies of their birth certificate. This comically misnamed law is yet another GOP-driven voter suppression measure disguised as a means to preserve election integrity.
I am fortunate enough to have a notarized copy of my original birth certificate that my mother gave me way back in the 1970s. My state DMV almost rejected it! It had to undergo further screening (all electronically) by some office in the state capital. I don't know what I could have used instead if it had been rejected.
I believe you would have had to obtain a certified copy of the original birth certificate from the records office of the state you were born in, bearing the official State seal. Time consuming, and expensive.
That is exactly what I have, which is why I was stressed about it not being accepted by the state I currently live in.
Thanks for highlighting this, Jess. Now imagine being Native American, living on a Reservation with no street address in addition to the marriage license and birth certificate hassles. Oh wait, they want to cancel vote by mail. That cuts off active duty military and rural and remote voters. We cannot allow this to continue.
My God. The hoops the First People will have to go through…
At this point in my life and after serving in the Navy for 16 years plus having voted in every election since Reagan - I think, if the SAVE act somehow passes, I would have to show up on election day and demand a ballot. The burden of proof to say I'm not eligible to vote would fall on whomever was making that claim - not me. And to stop me they would have to arrest me; a disabled Gulf War veteran (I might even wear my old uniform).
We've all paid our dues; over an over again. Fuck these fascists.
What is also frustrating about the REAL ID process is that it's arbitrarily enforced by whatever DMV employee you get. My friend had a similar experience to yours, which made me bring way more paperwork than I probably needed when it came time to get my REAL ID because the St. Joe DMV always takes forever and I didn't want to have to come back.
I too have been married twice, so I brought the usual documents, plus both certified marriage licenses, my divorce judgment showing approval to return to my maiden name, my social security card with my maiden name, etc. This took a while to gather and the DMV employee barely looked at my documents, and certainly didn't look at my license/divorce decree from my first marriage.
Thankfully I didn't have to order any of those documents (I'm a paperwork goblin), but I would have been mad if I had spent money on documents they didn't even look at but told us were required. It also begs the question of if the process is open to discrimination - will they possibly profile some people and demand these documents of them, when they don't of others?
I got into an argument when a DMV person refused to allow my using my passport to get a Real ID. I still don’t have a real id drivers license.
Jess, having recently helped my 87 year old mother get her Real ID so she could fly, I have nothing but sympathy for your journey. My father passed many years ago and she is happily remarried, but we still had to come up with an embossed copy of her 1950s marriage license.
This is beyond crazy.
Yep, you nailed it, Jess! It just proves that the only way the Repugnites can "win" elections is by restricting the vote (or by cheating.) It's been shown time and again that actual voter fraud is extremely rare, as is non-citizen voting. The name-change business is particularly galling, and ridiculous. The Repugnites want to go back to white male property owners voting and no one else. I remember some old high-school classmates of mine, several of whom were married women, trumpeting loudly during the Biden administration that "gas prices have increased by such-and-such since 2020, and WE VOTE, so WATCH OUT!" If this heinous act should pass the Senate, some of them won't be voting for much longer. I wonder if they're aware of that.
The outpouring of comments in less than an hour your post appeared is a testament to the level of evil that MAGA has brought upon our nation.
Jess, you got away cheap getting your real ID (which I thought Mo. had rejected).
A friend, divorced and remarried years ago, had to gather her birth certificate from Indiana, marriage licenses from two states and then replace both her current Real ID and passport. The process took more than 4 months and cost more than $500. BTW The Fascist more than doubled the cost of obtaining a passport during his first regime.
Thanks again for your excellent work.
My god!
Well said.