Hey folks,
I joined NewsNation this week to debate the SAVE Act — and let’s just cut through the noise: this isn’t a simple “show your driver’s license” voter ID bill. It’s a proposal that would make it significantly harder for people to register to vote.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with requiring ID at the ballot box. Most Americans already accept that. But the SAVE Act goes further. It would require documentary proof of citizenship — like a birth certificate or passport — just to register. And here’s the reality: about half of Americans don’t know where their birth certificate is, and roughly 60% don’t have a passport. In some states, passport ownership is in the single digits.
That’s not about “common sense security.” That’s about creating friction. It’s about adding bureaucracy between people and their fundamental right to vote.
Supporters argue this is about stopping non-citizen voting. But there’s no evidence of widespread non-citizen voting in federal elections. What there is evidence of is a political movement that still can’t admit Donald Trump lost in 2020 — and continues to build policy around that grievance.
If Republicans wanted a clean voter ID law, we could have that debate. But this bill is designed to shrink the electorate under the banner of “election integrity.” That’s why the timing matters. That’s why the details matter.
Democracy works best when it’s secure and accessible. You don’t strengthen it by making registration a scavenger hunt for documents people may not have seen in 20 years.
We should be expanding participation, not quietly narrowing it.
—Mike
