The GOP’s Voter Integrity Sham

Make the Republicans hell bent on passing the SAVE Act put money where their mouths are.

Earlier today, House Republicans passed their SAVE Act, which they say is for voter integrity and not voter suppression. But, despite the propaganda campaign by Elon Musk and congressional Republicans, this is not about simply requiring a photo ID to vote, which the majority of Americans support. The SAVE Act requires proof of citizenship, meaning only via a passport or birth certificate, not even the Real ID in most states, that requires individuals to attest their citizenship.

What does that mean in practice? It means those who don’t have current passports — Americans who don’t travel abroad, including but not limited to poor people, older Americans who no longer travel and whose passports have expired — will have to get one. What does it cost? It starts at $165 — and that’s without the cost of getting the required photos, travel to a passport office, and other expenses. A passport card, which would also qualify, costs $65 plus the cost of photos.

(EvgeniyShkolenko/iStock)

Birth certificates? I would wager that a whole lot of Americans have no idea where their birth certificates are, and many never had possession of one. A replacement birth certificate can cost $40 or more. But there is another kicker. Tens of millions of American married women took the names of their husbands — and the bill leaves it up to states to decide if their birth certificates will suffice. At minimum, this means uncertainty and for states that don’t make provisions to make it easy to qualify, and many Americans — estimates say 21 million — could be turned away when they go to vote.

It is hard to escape the conclusion that this is about voter suppression more than any assertion of voter integrity, especially because the claims of Musk and the sponsors of the SAVE Act of massive voter fraud by non-citizens, has been debunked over and over, in a slew of studies. They are using their lies about voter fraud to push a bill designed to eliminate the right to vote from people who are likely to vote in a way Republicans don’t like.

Of course, House passage of this bill does not guarantee it will make it into law. The Senate does not have the votes to go along. But we also know that Donald Trump, House Republicans, and Trumpist senators like Mike Lee (R-UT) will put intense pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to break his promise about the filibuster and blow it up to secure the bill’s passage. If Senate Republicans, seeing their party sink in public approval, believe their majority is in jeopardy in November, they might well do just that.

Should Thune cave and cancel the filibuster to allow the SAVE Act to pass with a simple majority, all is not lost. The Republican senators opposed to the bill have a way to ameliorate the damage to voters and to election integrity this bill would cause: add an amendment to make the cost of a passport card zero — to enable Americans to get that proof of citizenship for free — and make sure Americans can apply at all post offices, not just the small number of official passport offices. To be sure, proof of citizenship is still required to get a passport card. So, the amendment should include subsidies to states to provide birth certificates for free and allow affidavits to declare individuals are citizens, under penalty of perjury.

In effect, the SAVE Act is a poll tax, a parallel to what Jim Crow laws used to suppress black votes, which the Supreme Court ultimately outlawed. So, make the Republicans who are hell bent on passing their bill put money where their mouths are. If it is really about integrity, provide an ID for free, and make it easy to obtain.

Norman Ornstein is a political scientist, co-host of the podcast “Words Matter,” and author of books, including “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism.”

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