Letter: Don’t save the SAVE Act

In February, the House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act with the support of 8th District Congressman Mark Messmer, who has since urged the Senate to pass the bill. Congressman Messmer wants us to believe the SAVE Act is about preventing non-citizens from voting in our elections, but multiple studies show that non-citizen voting is incredibly rare.

That raises a question: What problem is the SAVE Act trying to solve? It has raised concerns among both Republican and Democratic election officials that its requirements will make it harder for citizens to vote.

Your driver’s license would not be enough to prove citizenship. You would need a passport or a certified birth certificate. If your name no longer matches your birth certificate, you would need additional steps.

A less-talked-about feature of the SAVE Act requires state election officials to run their voter registration lists through a DHS database to identify non-citizens, but that database has been proven unreliable.

While families worry about the increased cost of utilities, groceries, rent, and gas, it’s worth asking whether Congress should be putting energy into solving a problem that doesn’t exist while making our basic right to vote more difficult.

Let Congressman Messmer know what you think about his support for the SAVE Act. Then consider a vote for me in the May 5th primary election and again in the general election on November 3rd.

Mary Allen
Candidate for 8th Congressional District Representative.