Last week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 22, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which I proudly co-authored with my friend, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. The SAVE Act passed the House on a bipartisan basis, an inconvenient fact for Democrat leaders’ chosen narrative attacking it.
Perhaps the most absurd narrative peddled from the left, including twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, is that the SAVE Act will somehow disenfranchise married women, or anyone else who has changed his or her name, from voting in federal elections.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The SAVE Act secures all Americans’ votes by ensuring noncitizens do not vote in federal elections, effectively canceling out the votes of citizens, including married women.
The SAVE Act, a common-sense proposal widely supported by the American people, simply amends the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to require documentary proof of citizenship to register individuals to vote in federal elections.
Those opposed to the SAVE Act have hurled wild accusations against the bill, comparing it to a “poll tax” or “Jim Crow 2.0.” This is nothing new; virtually every state that has passed election integrity laws has faced backlash from left-wing Democrats decrying the measures as racist. This ignores the fact that, for example, in Georgia, voting increased after the state implemented voter integrity measures.
The left loves nothing more than invoking tiresome rhetorical tactics involving race or sex to stir up controversy against common-sense proposals. But Clinton’s argument that the SAVE Act will disenfranchise married women is not grounded in reality, and here’s why.
First, married women who have changed their name and already registered to vote — millions, mind you — are utterly unaffected by the SAVE Act. The so-called “69 million married women” figure is a statistical sleight of hand meant to purposefully ignite fear and conveniently glosses over this critical fact. As my friend Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., rightly pointed out during the House floor debate, this is a non-issue for those women, rendering the panic-peddling not just misleading but outright false.
Second, for individuals who have changed their name and already updated their documentary proof of citizenship to reflect this, no action is needed, and they can register to vote.
For the small fraction of individuals who have not updated their documentation to reflect a name change — though most do so quickly for general life purposes such as an I-9 form for employment, passport to travel, and Social Security card for taxes — the SAVE Act explicitly directs states to establish a process allowing them to register to vote despite a name discrepancy. The SAVE Act specifically left this to the states because name-change procedures are governed by state law, and the specific requirements, forms, fees, and processes can vary from state to state.
No one will be unable to vote because of a name change.
Hellbound and Down 