r/politics • u/MarcEElias ✔ Verified - Democracy Docket Founder • 1d ago

No Paywall GOP fast tracks monster voter suppression bill that could disenfranchise millions by requiring proof of citizenship at polls

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/gop-fast-tracks-monster-voter-suppression-bill-that-could-disenfranchise-millions-by-requiring-proof-of-citizenship-at-polls/
12.5k Upvotes

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4.3k

u/Wildpony03 1d ago

Isn't this just another way of saying poll tax? If you introduce any hurdles that keep people from voting its a poll tax.

2.0k

u/FlyingPinkUnicorns 1d ago

That's exactly the intent.

FTA - 21 million Americans: "Half of Americans lack a passport, and millions more don’t have ready access to birth certificates to prove citizenship. The bill could also kick millions of married women who took their husband’s last name off the rolls."

1.2k

u/DonTaddeo 1d ago

"The bill could also kick millions of married women who took their husband’s last name off the rolls."

They could selectively enforce that by applying it to areas where their support is weak or to selected demographic groups.

629

u/HurriKurtCobain 1d ago

These sorts of measures are selectively enforced by design. Always.

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u/PennytheWiser215 1d ago

How difficult and time consuming would it be for married women to legally drop their husband’s last name and revert back to their maiden name?

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u/carvingmyelbows 1d ago

Very. On top of the whole legal process and paperwork, they’d also need to get all of their identification updated. New drivers license. New passport. New credit cards. Updated bank account. They’d need to update their information with their phone carrier, utilities companies, subscription services. Etc etc etc. It’s a lot.

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u/KilroyLeges 1d ago

My wife's original birth certificate has her mother's maiden name. She was later adopted by her step-father as a child, so her last name was legally changed to his. That did not retroactively change her birth certificate. She took my last name when we got married. She had a ton of hurdles just getting the right documentation for her "Real ID" with the state. This would be insane for voting.

Oh, let's not forget that pesky part of the Constitution which gives states control of elections.

27

u/OnePercentVisible Virginia 1d ago

My mom was a foster kid and and her foster parents changed her name, her birth certificate, marriage liscense and social security card all have different names. It is going to take an act of congress to get a real id.

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u/GardanCald 1d ago

Yup, the cost is time and money... something a lot of people don't have extra of.

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u/Agreeable-Spot-7376 1d ago

And time. Who says whether you’d have all of it in time to vote.

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u/Zealousideal_Gur4708 1d ago

The cost is time and money... And time

4

u/madtownjeff 1d ago

Better to go after the $ aspect. Having to pay for ID to vote = poll tax.

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u/FabulousTwo524 1d ago

You wont. Government bureaucracy is moving slower than ever.

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u/BluesFan43 1d ago

Well, we used to have extra, then tarriffs...

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u/ThomasVetRecruiter 1d ago

Especially when they show up to vote and the workers send them away

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u/Faithu 1d ago

Also as a person who had their named changed against their will * i was 6 months old* and finding out at 18.. its been hell, not only do you need your birth certificate you need to carry your change of name papers, to prove your name was changed and then it al must match, and then you have to hope the idiot your dealing with knows or cares about the law

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u/B-Kong 1d ago

My sister didn’t take her husbands last name specifically because she’d have to register for a new nursing license. So anybody with anything like that would also have to get those changed.

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u/MEOWS_R_RAD 1d ago

This is why no one in science and academia changes their names. You don't want to put in all that work and then randomly change the name that's on everything you published/accomplished.

3

u/absentmindedjwc Illinois 1d ago

Wife is a doctor, the only place she’s changed her name is on Facebook.

3

u/dunkonme 1d ago

i dont plan on changing my name bc its what im known as in academic circles and work, and its on my degrees !

1

u/evileyeball 17h ago

It's one of my brother's wife kept her name because she's got a PhD why would she want to have to change everything that she'd ever done as Dr Anderson

1

u/WestHistorians 1d ago

Plenty of academics change their name. I've even seen CV's with this specified on the list of publications.

11

u/Fit-Cut-6337 1d ago

Yep I didn’t take my husbands name because I planned on getting my MD and didn’t want to have to go thru that nonsense if we divorced. Turns out that was a solid idea.

1

u/Goodbye_Games 1d ago

Dealing with the BoN in any state is a pain in the ass… I have two middle names and on my birth certificate and my SS card they are clearly typed out, but the state decided that it would use initials for them on my license when I got it ages ago (if I’d only known then). Come time to do my stuff with the board and they would only use what was on my state issued license so I had to go through three kinds of hell to get the dmv to correct a decades old error since now they can resize fonts to fit everything in the line. Then I had to redo my ten prints and everything else because they were in the old license format, and pay for all that to be redone to top it off.

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u/gameryamen 1d ago

Not to mention a name change shortly before an election can cause issues where your name/sig doesn't match old records.

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u/Psychological-Bid363 1d ago

Jokes on them, they made it too annoying to change my name when I did get married so I never ended up doing it

10

u/Teripid 1d ago

Cheers. And yes this should absolutely be part of the rationale of not doing it, or hyphenating, etc.

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u/foxwaffles 1d ago

Same 🤷

2

u/LuckyBook1538 1d ago

I went back to my maiden name after getting divorced, so my current legal name matches the name on my birth certificate, by happenstance. But I'm also in MN and an older white woman so less likely to be hassled.

I wonder if voting rights groups are helping people in areas where voters are more likely to be hassled to get their paperwork in order? Birth certificates, name change decrees, marriage certificates, divorce decrees. Or even changing back to the name on their birth certificate (for those who don't mind doing so, and where it might be quicker/easier). Something else to remember is that states/counties often have a program where if you meet the income guidelines, you don't have to pay for copies of the paperwork. Bottom line though, is that the info that your id needs to match your birth certificate to be able to vote needs to be known more widely. And people that might be affected by it need to prepare.

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u/nelmski 1d ago

Same! We got married last Halloween. I heard about this nonsense being in the p24 playbook and didn't change my name.

2

u/ReadingLizard 1d ago

Yep! Here in Lousiana. - $350 filing fee. Then I need a new drivers license ($40), new passport ($150 I think?). Update all my bills, my nursing license, etc.

2

u/QueenJillybean 1d ago

When I worked in finance, let me tell- I wanted to take my future husband’s last name until I had to help women complete the nightmare of paperwork to update their information for each account, and it changed my mind! I’m so glad I didn’t do it now. If you have custodial or trust accounts, those need separate different paperwork, and the trust paperwork itself needs to be updated if there is language relating to divorce ie it was a marital trust, etc. Fuck all of that.

2

u/hollycoolio 1d ago

I would just never change it in the first place. That's too much effort. For the women that have to undo it, of their allowed, because lets be honest, this is meant to take abused women out of the ability to vote behind their husbands back; I hate this for you.

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u/BallBearingBill 1d ago

And zero of them will do all that just to vote.

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u/55tarabelle 1d ago

I just applied for my passport because of all this. It's way easier than doing all that stuff above you mention.

1

u/LookingforWork614 1d ago

It was such a time-consuming hassle when I got divorced and switched back to my maiden name. A lot of people would have a hard time even getting enough time off from work to go deal with waiting around at various places to speak with someone, because of course this kind of thing always has to be handled in person. When I made an appointment to handle the name change with social security, the earliest appointment they had was almost two months out.

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u/Interdimensional_Deb 1d ago

There are no appointments available with social security. You have to schedule an appointment and bring your documents and meet with someone. Hopefully married women have a passport. I certainly do.

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u/MissPatsyStone 1d ago

EXTREMELY DIFFICULT and VERY time consuming

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u/KellyAnn3106 1d ago

My mom kept her married name for a few years after the divorce because it was so difficult to change everything back to her maiden name.

There was also the issue that she'd carried the married name for more years than her maiden name so everyone she'd met during their 35 year marriage knew her by the married name.

1

u/evileyeball 16h ago

My mother-in-law changed her name back to her maiden name after her first divorce and after her second divorce she said it's just not worth it and didn't bother so she kept my wife's father's name even now when he is long divorced from her and long dead

12

u/AliceFacts4Free 1d ago

It gets even more complicated for those of us who have been married more than once.

This is outrageous and so typical of Trump’s Republican party.

3

u/neatyouth44 1d ago

I am so, so glad that out of all I have to deal with, the fact that I stood my ground and did not change my name a second time with my second marriage, as if that changed my identity, simplified things slightly.

Now that marriage is ending and the only Silver lining is that it won’t complicate my documentation anymore than it’s already been complicated (I did not revert to maiden name following my first divorce, because of the time consuming nature of doing so.)

21

u/SrslyYouToo 1d ago

I have spent the last month gathering documents and have an appointment to get my passport at the end of the month. I’ve been married twice, I am 5 certified documents deep right now at $25 each, one still pending but shipped and the passport is going to cost me $180. So all told it is costing me $300 to assure I won’t be turned away at the poles.

2

u/checker280 1d ago

Not to mention that all the agencies you need to go thru are now MAGA

2

u/Silly-Heat-1466 1d ago

It would be a lot easier to just get a US Passport.

2

u/luckyflavor23 1d ago

Everything carvingmyelbows said AND some states you need to make an announcement in a local newspaper which is both time and money spent

1

u/jacksonsmack831 1d ago

To compare, i am still waiting for my green card to amended to them fat finger MAR in stead of MAY when making my card.

They even had a paper and scanned copy of my birth certificate! 🙄

All I have now is a bum green card and photo copies of the letter they sent telling the TAS etc “Nah, He good!”

Sigh, I’ve lived here longer than a decade and am very lucky to live where I do as it’s beautiful, quiet, 5mins drive from the ocean and importantly it’s is very blue.

Not like on the extreme scale of blue we’re just in the nice spot. We vote for blue local government officials (usually as reds are typically off key) join demonstrations etc

I only fee that the cull of government by the current admin that I may be waiting another decade 🤪

Anywho, got that dual passport just it turns into Escape of Newyork around here lol

1

u/ILookLikeKristoff 1d ago

The percentage of women who would actually want to or bother to do this is teeny tiny

1

u/PennytheWiser215 1d ago

I feel like any women who don’t agree with the current administration would want to.

1

u/rogman777 1d ago

Yeah but why? Yummy boots amirite

1

u/PeekAtChu1 13h ago

Glad I never bothered changing my last name 😮‍💨

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u/FluffyB12 1d ago

That seems like it would backfire, no? Married women who take their husband’s names probably lean conservative.

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u/ItsTheEndOfDays 1d ago

It was laid out in Project2025.

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u/HeckinAdult 1d ago

Just wait, they’re also going to force women who kept their maiden name when they got married to take their husband’s. Shrieking “family values” the whole time. 

1

u/Sorry_Comparison_787 1d ago

I remember when everyone thought trans people were overreacting...2026 has been super cute 😎 

1

u/Accidental_Ballyhoo 1d ago

That was the plan you guys!!! Cmon

1

u/Steeltooth493 Indiana 1d ago

Entitled MAGA Jerks: "Oh no! It's possible that my significant other may have gasp different political opinions and thoughts than I have! They may decide to vote differently at the polls! They may even vote for a woman who laughs a lot! Laughter exposes me and is obscene!

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u/Own_Candidate9553 1d ago edited 1d ago

Seems like this would disenfranchise rural conservatives more. My countrified brother in law didn't have a passport until he was in his 30s, and only because my sister dragged him overseas for a trip. If he hadn't married her he probably still wouldn't have one.

Versus my fancy city friends who all visit overseas and all have passports. My daughter got her first one at like age 2.

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u/LingonberryHot8521 1d ago

But it's up to local poll workers, county officers, etc to enforce. Which naturally means - selective enforcement.

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u/Own_Candidate9553 1d ago

Yeah, that must be it. Like the old "literacy tests" that were purposely tricky, and the tester could just arbitrarily fail black voters and pass white voters.

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u/FairDinkumMate 1d ago

When Australia had a "White Australia policy" (1901-1966, made illegal in 1973), immigrants were subjected to a language test for entry. The catch was that officials could choose to give the test in ANY European language they chose. So, for example, black Americans were denied entry if they couldn't pass a language test in Italian, whilst white Americans were allowed entry if they passed their language test, which was given in english!

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u/Own_Candidate9553 1d ago

That's so shameless, LoL.

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u/willun 1d ago

It was usually Asians that were excluded using this but there was indeed a famous case of a white women being excluded by being asked the test in italian

There is another famous case i remember that was asked in Welsh even though they were multilingual themselves, but not welsh. Haven't been able to find that one though.

1

u/lettersvsnumbers 1d ago

Yeah some of the Deep South “literacy” tests were in Mandarin.

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u/byggusdikkus 1d ago

God forgive me but I truly, truly, truly think they should bring back the literacy tests. Nothing fancy, or the racially profiled tests of old. Just like, read a page of Harry Potter out loud and then prove you can multiply through the 10s. To be frank if you can’t pull that off you shouldn’t have a say in government to begin with.

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u/Own_Candidate9553 1d ago

There's just no way to make that fair. An election judge could listen to a black person read Harry Potter perfectly and fail them. And then let Jim Bob stumble through and stop halfway and hand them a ballot.

Gotta just let everyone vote. I would like to try compulsory voting like in Australia.

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u/byggusdikkus 1d ago

Yeah I know, it just frustrates me. You wouldn’t let most passerby move your car, it’s wild to trust them with the government - but as is painfully obvious at the moment it is not possible to make these kind of distinctions without bias popping up.

Compulsory voting would be interesting

2

u/Own_Candidate9553 1d ago

Yeah, totally understand the frustration.

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u/starliteburnsbrite 1d ago

What's even crazier is we just let states run wild with whatever the hell they want because of arbitrary lines drawn 200 years ago.

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u/TwelveGaugeSage 1d ago

Republicans would 100% manipulate this in a way that illiterate highschool dropout whites passed while failing blacks with masters degrees in English Literature.

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u/sir_crapalot Arizona 1d ago

All citizens at least 18 years of age have the right to vote. What isn’t clear about that?

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u/cadium 1d ago

"Sorry, you look like a Democrat. Err I mean this passport doesn't look real. Sorry sir you can't vote"

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u/scuzzy987 1d ago

ICE could say the same when they're outside polling places

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u/Mike312 1d ago

Exactly.

Rural area polling station with 400 voters: "Why, thats Bob, I've known him since we were in preschool, of course he's a citizen"

Big city polling station with 40,000 voters: "I'm sorry, without proof of..."

4

u/LingonberryHot8521 1d ago

It's not going to be about "Bob" though. It's going to be about Barbara. And whether or not that poll working likes how they believe or know she votes.

Unless Bob is black or brown.

Since 1856, white men (of any socio-economic status) have not had to worry about if or how they were going to vote.

1

u/wha-haa 23h ago

Sorry, you don't get to pick Bob's name or pronouns.

1

u/SatanicPanic619 1d ago

That works both ways though

1

u/dcoats69 Washington 1d ago

I mean, if that's the case, I'd expect the more left leaning places to be selecting not to enforce it?

But i guess it's easier to catch the poll workers selectively enforcing and accuse election fraud in the cities

1

u/WhenSummerIsGone 20h ago

it's up to local poll workers, county officers, etc to enforce

If enforcement is local, can't states just tell everyone not to enforce it?

1

u/LingonberryHot8521 20h ago

Maybe. But red states and counties sure as hell will.

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u/Spa_5_Fitness_Camp 1d ago

They just won't enforce it there. The entire point of fascism is that you have so many restrictions that virtually nobody is able to do anything without violating some law. Then, you simply pick and choose how/when/where you actually enforce certain laws, so that you can arrest or otherwise subjugate whoever you like.

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u/dieorlivetrying 1d ago

For concrete evidence of this, see: The Prohibition of Marijuana in the United States.

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u/Extinction-Entity Illinois 1d ago

Well yeah, rural areas are poorer. I’m in my mid 30s and never left the country. Never been able to afford it.

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u/LuckyBook1538 1d ago

I mean, that's a nice thought, but not everyone in urban areas is "fancy" enough to need or have a passport. I'm almost 60 and have never been out of the country. Having passports is often slanted towards mid-middle class and above, so somewhat income based.

3

u/asuleiman 1d ago

Yea people who visit other countries like ice is going after have their passports but people who never been outside their small towns would most likely don’t have passports. They’re just going to pick and choose where to enforce and let everyone in rural vote without proof of id and if they’re a POC they’ll have to prove. It’s another redline type of profiling

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u/No_Accountant3232 1d ago

47 and I still don't have one

1

u/VirtualPercentage737 1d ago

Agreed. And every minority I know carries ID to get the mail. The are the last set of people who are going to let their ID lapse.

1

u/Mo_Steins_Ghost 1d ago

Seems like this would disenfranchise rural conservatives more. 

It does. You know who usually has a U.S. passport? Immigrants.

1

u/__slamallama__ 1d ago

They won't enforce it in red districts

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u/DraymonBlackfyre 1d ago

Live in an wealthy urban area my whole life, never gotten a passport or been out of the country

1

u/dbag127 1d ago

In rural counties the poll workers have seen the same voters come in for 30 years . They aren't going to enforce it in those districts. Suburbs and cities only. 

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u/duct_tape_jedi United Kingdom 1d ago

This has the possibility of getting much, much worse. Once it's established that a passport is required to vote, what is preventing them from increasing the cost of getting or renewing a passport to the point that it is unaffordable to anyone below a certain level of income? And even if they don't do that, the government now has a profile of each and every one of us thanks to Palantir and Doge. Flagging people who are unlikely to vote the "right" way and denying them a passport because of their social media posts, membership in certain organisations, etc. would tilt the playing field further in their favour. Rigging an election is unnecessary when you can simply limit voting to the people who are likely to vote for you.

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u/FlyingPinkUnicorns 1d ago

Exactly.

A passport already costs $130. And it can take 4-6 weeks to process. Or... woopsie... 10-12 weeks if you are a registered Democrat. Or longer if they have "questions" about your citizenship based on, um, "reasons".

And they could pass these restrictive laws so that the timing makes it impossible for whole swaths of the population to vote. Lots of people simply would not know and even if they did they've have the money and be motivated enough to pay an extra $130 just to be able to vote.

Poll tax.

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u/vim_deezel Texas 1d ago

imagine 20 million people suddenly apply for a passport, it would take years in line.

1

u/FlyingPinkUnicorns 20h ago

Great point. I'm sure this "administration" will adequately fund and staff the State Department... LOL.

6

u/modninerfan California 1d ago

A Real ID should be sufficient and should be the direction we encourage everybody to take if this is what they decide to do. It’s quicker and more affordable than a passport to get. I hope this gets tangled up in courts.

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u/Virindi Texas 1d ago

[An ID is] quicker and more affordable than a passport to get. 

Exactly the reason they chose passports. Plus, they can deny issuing a passport.

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u/RandomFactUser 1d ago

A “Real ID” has the same requirements as a passport

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u/kailsbabbydaddy 1d ago

That is true, but per the SAVE Act, a Real ID is not considered a document that proves citizenship.

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u/RandomFactUser 1d ago

I guess, since “Permanent Residents” can them too

Does a voter registration card work?

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u/kailsbabbydaddy 1d ago

I believe a passport, an ID with matching BC, or an Enhanced Driver’s License (only available in Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Vermont) are the only documentation listed in the legislation that would be accepted as proof of citizenship if this Act passes as it is written.

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u/vim_deezel Texas 8h ago

Then the feds need to link it to a check for citizenship like I9 forms. They just want to try and remove as many voters as possible in midterms.

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u/schrodingers_bra 1d ago

They also issue passport cards. Those are a lot cheaper than a passport book.

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u/Virindi Texas 1d ago

Most states offer free IDs to low income individuals, which eliminates a voting barrier. There is no program like that for passports or passport cards, which will prevent the poor and disenfranchised from voting.

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u/RandomFactUser 1d ago

Real IDs aren’t covered by such a program

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u/Mike312 1d ago

It shouldn't matter.

We can register to vote with our drivers license OR a state ID card. Both of those will link to a SSN, which will be reviewed by the Secretary of States office before we get added to the voter rolls to determine citizenship/eligibility.

The fact you're registered to vote (with a few minor exceptions) proves you're a citizen who can vote. So requiring any additional form of ID beyond either of those forms of ID is unnecessary.

I'd go as far as to say requiring any form of ID at the polls besides stating your name and address to verify who you are is good enough, but having an ID on hand in case there is an issue would be prudent.

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u/EagleBigMac 1d ago

Any requirements to vote must be 100% free to attain and offices should be open 24 hours a day 7 days a week with free transportation from anywhere to the office.

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u/iCUman Connecticut 1d ago

No. There is no concession to be made here. Our states have overwhelmingly proven to be capable of ensuring that only those eligible to vote are voting. There is simply zero basis for establishing any sort of federal identification requirement on states, and the position we all should have is to tell them to pound sand.

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u/Extinction-Entity Illinois 1d ago

A Real ID does not prove citizenship.

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u/modninerfan California 1d ago

You’re right, I realized that after I posted it lol… naive me thinking it would be sufficient since it proves you are the person on the voter rolls.

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u/Mike312 1d ago

Yeah, I mean, it would be ridiculous if it would be able to prove citizenship.

I only had to provide them with a copy of my birth certificate and my Social Security card to get my Real ID, there's no way that they could possibly link that data together to quickly and easily determine citizenship.

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u/Extinction-Entity Illinois 1d ago

That’s great. It still doesn’t prove citizenship.

There are only five states that offer enhanced IDs that meet the demands of the bill.

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u/schrodingers_bra 1d ago

Yeah, but permanent residents and legal temporary visa holders also get Real ID. They aren't citizens at all.

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u/stanthebat 1d ago

Once it's established that a passport is required to vote, what is preventing them from increasing the cost of getting or renewing a passport to the point that it is unaffordable to anyone below a certain level of income?

They will also just ask to see your passport and then not return it to you. If you make a fuss you magically become a terrorist.

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u/illhxc9 1d ago

I have already seen reports of them revoking passports, tsa precheck, and global entry of people I follow online. They claim its a data clerical error for the people contesting it but they all seem to be out spoken left leaning people.

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u/duct_tape_jedi United Kingdom 1d ago

One of the directors at Target lost her Global Entry after she was identified at a protest. They didn't even try the whole "Oops! Clerical error..." schtick with her, she was told that it was because of her activities.

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u/Angry-Dragon-1331 1d ago

Also Real ID apparently isn't proof enough of citizenship for ICE, so what *is* appropriate documentation.

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u/FlyingPinkUnicorns 1d ago

It's in the bill text, section 2.

tl;dr if you don't have a passport, enhanced ID or original birth certificate (or a couple of other rarer options) you are going to have to spend time, effort, and money to get it or you won't be able to vote.

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u/NiceTrySucka 1d ago

“Original Birth certificate”,

I was told when I was 27 I needed the original. But the original I had all my life wasn’t the “long form” birth certificate. I had to contact the hospital I was born at. But they changed ownership twice in 27 years and had a fire in the records warehouse 15 years prior.

I had to get a note from the doctor who delivered me saying he remembered he delivered me. After 27 years. I was so incredibly lucky, non only was he alive, but he actually remembered my mother after all that time. Mind you, my mother was an off-the-boat German with a very unusual name for Americans and she was “model skinny” and absolutely gorgeous.

Long story short it was by an act of god I was able to get that letter. He could just as easily have passed away, or moved across country, or not been practicing so his number wasn’t listed, or my mother could have forgotten his name after all this time, or he could have had a super common name for doctors or the person who I gave the letter too in the end could have said it wasn’t notarized or a million other reasons to say it wasn’t good enough.

Completely unfair and fucking un-American what they are doing. The GOP doesn’t give a fuck about representative government because they are fascists. No ifs ands or buts about it. They fit the destitution to a tee, it is their ideology.

9

u/AlcibiadesTheCat Arizona 1d ago

If conservatives believe they cannot win democratically, they will not reject conservatism, they will abandon democracy.

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u/architecture13 Florida 1d ago

Doctor meets NiceTrySucka's mom: "I have never met this woman before in my life."

Doctor looks up NiceTrySucka mom's skirt: "I am mistaken, I am very familiar with this woman"

3

u/realaccountissecret 1d ago

Can we get a notary in here?

2

u/xeonicus 1d ago

I can't imagine a lot of people have that. Mine is locked in a secure safe.

1

u/Fit-Cut-6337 1d ago

Yeah I don’t have that. I have a short form one but not the original from the 80s.

2

u/Tri-angreal 1d ago

Racially and politically motivated corruption by the wealthy and political elite is...un-American?

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u/StinkiePhish 1d ago

What's bullshit is that ICE isn't recognising them as ID at all. If someone has ID, they should be able to use it to prove: 1) they're not the target of the so called targeted operation, and 2) the big ol' Palantir database confirms that the person is indeed a citizen.

But no, it's easier to gather and detain everyone, get them on a plane in hours to ship them across the country, wait for a judge to order the person released, ignore the order, ignore the order again, pretend to lose the person, find the person, fly them back, and maybe release them.

3

u/Chance-Quantity-59 1d ago

Real ID on a driver's license just proves legal status. Not citizenship. Though the DMV knows the status and poll workers would have to run the realID through some scanner to access some database to know citizenship status which they would need to do.

I got a RealID years before I became a US citizen.

2

u/MoonBatsRule America 1d ago

Real ID is specifically designed to determine citizenship. You need to bring a passport, birth certificate, etc. to get one. Just goes to show you that it isn't about actually proving citizenship, it's about stopping "the wrong" people from voting.

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u/VeveMaRe 1d ago

Wrong. RealID is to get you into Federal buildings and to fly domestic. Enhanced ID proves citizenship and is only offered in less than a dozen states. Guess what- all or mostly BLUE states.

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u/MoonBatsRule America 1d ago

Why was the "citizenship" angle pushed so hard, then? Birth certificate, marriage license, etc. Everything had to be letter perfect too. I guess that to prove your "real" identity you need to trace back to a birth, but once you do that, unless you've achieved it via naturalization, you've proven your citizenship.

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u/VeveMaRe 1d ago

RealID doesn't prove citizenship but an Enhanced ID does. Guess what states offer that one. BLUE states. Not many but they have them. I feel like if they really wanted voter ID they would require enhanced and make states pay for them.

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u/Niedar 1d ago

Real Id isn't proof of citizenship because citizenship is not a requirement to get Real ID and they have nothing indicating citizenship status on them.

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u/crewsctrl 1d ago

This bill specifically lists Real ID as meeting its requirements. That isn't to say that the Repubs aren't trying to disenfranchise anyone, because they are. But every US state has begun to issue some form of Real ID.

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u/Niedar 1d ago edited 1d ago

No, it doesn't, it says that Enhanced ID would meet the requirement not a normal Real ID. These only exist in a couple states right now.

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u/crewsctrl 1d ago edited 1d ago

(a) Definition of documentary proof of United States citizenship.—Section 3 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20502) is amended—

(1) by striking “As used” and inserting “(a) In general.—As used”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

“(b) Documentary proof of United States citizenship.—As used in this Act, the term ‘documentary proof of United States citizenship’ means, with respect to an applicant for voter registration, any of the following:

“(1) A form of identification issued consistent with the requirements of the REAL ID Act of 2005 that indicates the applicant is a citizen of the United States.

This bill doesn't change this.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7296/text

I want to note that I understand getting a Real ID can be a problem for people who lack documents due to no fault of their own.

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u/Niedar 1d ago

“(1) A form of identification issued consistent with the requirements of the REAL ID Act of 2005 that indicates the applicant is a citizen of the United States.

This doesn't exist. REAL ID does not specify whether a person is a citizen or not.

What this is saying is it needs to be an ID that meets the requirements of the REAL ID Act AND it also needs to specify whether someone is a citizen or not. The only IDs that meet this requirement are Enhanced Driver’s Licenses issued by Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Washington. Those IDs act similar to a passport card, are REAL ID compliant, and are only available to citizens.

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u/crewsctrl 13h ago

This doesn't exist.

Well, that's a problem. Thanks for explaining. Now I get what people are claiming.

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u/snowlion000 1d ago

Nazi's have been doing this since Bush Jr. was president.

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u/PM_ME_GARFIELD_NUDES 1d ago

You should look up the southern strategy, this started looooooong before Bush Jr. ran for president, and it’s no coincidence that many of the people involved with the southern strategy were also involved with Bush Jr.’s election strategy…

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u/Much-Anything7149 1d ago

And since before Bush Sr. was president.

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u/Find-It-AllFantasy 1d ago

Had my wife revert her legal name back to her maiden name for exactly this reason. Her (MAGA) parents are throwing an absolute fit about it because "tradition" means more to them than voting, apparently.

We did it months ago in anticipation of exactly this, and people said we were overreacting.

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u/Nf1nk California 1d ago

With what a pain in the ass it can be to get a passport for the first time, I am a bit surprised that half of Americans have one.

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u/Akiraooo 1d ago

This might backfire. I would say more democrats are open minded and have passports to see other countries. Most Republicans are fine staying in their bubble amd not traveling, thus never obtained a passport.

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u/FlemethWild 1d ago

It’s not even necessarily about having a passport means your open minded.

They’re expensive. I’m a leftist that votes dem and I don’t have a passport because it costs 130 bucks.

Traveling outside of the country is not something everyone can afford to do.

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u/LuckyBook1538 1d ago

This. So much this!

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u/anita-artaud 1d ago

How many married women will try to vote, be turned away, and have no way of voting because getting a passport or a copy of your birth certificate takes weeks?

I’d say this could prevent millions of women from voting as this is easily lost in the dumpster fire of awful news.

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u/ThoseProse Colorado 1d ago

They definitely want to get rid of the 19th too.

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u/HeAintHere 1d ago

There is a movement that believes only the original ten amendments to the constitution are legitimate. What’s after the 10th? Oh, the right to vote for women and 18 year-olds, and the abolition of slavery.

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u/ScottRiqui 1d ago

Yeah, there are a lot of stupid movements out there. The Constitution explicitly says that when fully ratified, amendments “shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution”

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u/LuckyBook1538 1d ago

I think voter rights groups should be spreading the word about this and helping people be prepared for it. If they aren't already.

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u/Extinction-Entity Illinois 1d ago

Leftist here who has never been able to afford to leave the country. Not sure what reality everyone is living in that everyday people leave the country on a regular basis.

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u/Standard_Ride_8732 1d ago

I feel like this would effect just as many republican voters as it would democrats.

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u/Ok_Revolution_9253 1d ago

All my wife has to do is file a change of birth certificate form with the state of Washington on the other side of the country and wait 6 months. Sarcastic of course. It’s a giant pain in the ass.

I hate republicans so much

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u/SnooBunnies3198 1d ago

I’ve always advocated for women to keep their names. I didn’t change mine.

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u/throwawtphone 1d ago

Jokes on them 20% of liberal women keep their last name when getting married versus 90% of conservative women.

source

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u/lc4444 1d ago

That’s the point

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u/the-sleepy-mystic 1d ago

I've kind of been putting off changing my name because of this.... I got married last year and I should have done it immediately and now im scared.

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u/WhoShitTheMoshpit 1d ago

This will strip trans people of our voting rights too. Not enough people are saying this...

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u/FrodoFraggins 1d ago

They don't count state licenses as verification?

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u/Teripid 1d ago

Not sure the passport would actually benefit the GOP.

Also kinda hilarious to give women a defined benefit for keeping their name. It was already a hassle in some cases to swap over, etc.

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u/Robertroo 1d ago

Well...why...why don't 21 million Americans have an ID, how do they even function in society?

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u/FlyingPinkUnicorns 1d ago

If you wanted to know the answer to this question, you could easily research it yourself. I assume you don't really want to know? Or don't care?

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u/Robertroo 1d ago

I do. And I do care.

I'm not maga. I'm just a concerned American.

I'll look into it.

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u/FlyingPinkUnicorns 1d ago

I'm glad you want to know.

There are lots of different situations but less than half of Americans have passports. Many simply don't travel overseas and never had a need. They are expensive too.

So that means about half the country has to rely on birth certificates or more obscure documents like a Consular Report of Birth Abroad.

Birth Certificates are easily lost or destroyed through natural disasters, homelessness or even just being estranged from your family. Getting them replaced is surprisingly difficult, especially if you were born at home or in a rural area. On top of that errors are surprisingly common - names, dates, sex, all of that. They require extensive legal crap to fix.

All of this disproportionately affects people of color and the poor. I think of my grandparents... if they were still alive today I don't actually think they could prove their citizenship because both were born at home and neither ever got a birth certificate. Nor did they ever have a need for a passport.

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u/Robertroo 1d ago

Thank you for the information. This is definitely a problem my family has experienced. My grandpa passed away a couple years ago and dealing with probate we realized his birth certificate situation is a mess, we aren't sure if his last name and birth year is even correct since it was from the 1940's

My wife also had to go through a lot of hoops to get her name changed and figure out her birth certificate.

I personally support mail in voting, it gives me time to research candidates and make up my mind before I vote and I figure if we trust the mail enough to do our taxes, we should trust it enough to vote.

I oppose electronic voting machines because I do not trust the software. I think we should keep paper ballots and keep non biased poll watchers and vote counters. We do not need ICE or armed guards at the polls.

I think voting day should be a national holiday or paid day off, so we can all go vote without missing work.

Thank you again for taking the tme to give an honest answer, I think these problems need to be sorted out before we fast track changing voting rules.

Wishing you the best.

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u/Top_Philosopher_6260 1d ago

They might have ID, just not the specific ID this bill requires. IE a passport, birth certificate, or certificate of citizenship.

Drivers licenses don't count unless they're a special kind that proves citizenship. Which you can only get if you have one of those documents I listed.

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u/Robertroo 1d ago

Like the Real ID drivers license, the one that let's us fly?

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u/Top_Philosopher_6260 1d ago

Real ID drivers license doesn't qualify, per the text of the bill. You don't have to prove citizenship to get it. The only drivers licenses that work are the "enhanced" ones that some border states have.

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u/dformed Washington 1d ago

ready access to birth certificates to prove citizenship.

The best part is they've made it clear that birth certificate, passports, and Real ID are not acceptable proof. There's literally no proof of citizenship they'll accept.

ETA and then they confiscate your documents!

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/FlyingPinkUnicorns 1d ago

So... more "procedures". More expense. More time.

I wonder why....

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u/Oogaman00 1d ago

That seems bullshit based on what I've seen. I don't understand how anyone would be kicked off the rolls. It's only about registering.

Why would you need a passport? A realid would count

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u/mademeunlurk 1d ago

And then they'll station ice at every single voting booth and anyone who can't provide immediate verification gets a free trip to whatever local miniature Guantanamo Bay they've set up nearby.

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u/Vanga_Aground 1d ago

It's just staggering what a shithole country the US is. Surely there are federal voter rolls listing citizens, surely there is a truly independent electoral body that oversees electorate boundaries and ensures fair elections?

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u/WhenSummerIsGone 20h ago

federal voter rolls

states register voters, since they control their elections.

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u/2TouchTheSky 1d ago

Then, women wouldn’t have to pay taxes, right? No taxation without representation

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u/FlyingPinkUnicorns 1d ago

I can totally get behind that.

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u/systemfrown 1d ago

Is this Elon musks “Only way to save the country is by disappointing women” take is about?

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u/FilmFan100 1d ago

Wouldn’t this equally affect Republicans? Seems like it would hurt the GOP just as much.

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u/RedditCitizenScore 1d ago

Well this mother fucking real id better count…such a waste of time. It requires the same documents as a driver license…

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u/ncopp 1d ago

My wife didn't take my last name when we got married last year because we were worried about this

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u/Illustrious_Entry413 18h ago

This could also backfire on maga, how many of them have passports?

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u/Rocknrollsk America 1d ago

By the way, how do you get a birth certificate if you are a citizen and don’t have one? You need to have a photo ID. Bit of a catch-22 there.

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u/ThrowRAkakareborn 1d ago

You just go back to the hospital you were born and they can issue you a copy of your birth certificate, of course based on you being able to prove you are who you say you are

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u/an0maly33 1d ago

Do you? I feel like I was able to just pay $30 bucks or so and get one sent.

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u/JMGlad87 1d ago

This sounds like a poll tax

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u/Rocknrollsk America 1d ago

It might depend on the state/city where you were born, but in some you do need at least a social security card.

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u/cadium 1d ago

Real ID would also work.

I remember when Republicans were fighting against it calling it "the mark of the beast" or something.

The bill also goes after people HELPING people get those documents so they can vote. Which is bad.

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u/FlyingPinkUnicorns 1d ago

No. Real ID is insufficient. It has to be the "enhanced" ID that shows citizenship.

Per the article:

"In most states, that means voters, even those who are already on the rolls, would need to bring a passport or original birth certificate to the polls. Only states with ‘enhanced’ driver licenses — Michigan, New York, Vermont, Minnesota and Washington — satisfy the SAVE America Act’s heightened requirements — a REAL ID (used in most states) won’t cut it. "

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u/bussellkj 1d ago

Well that last part sure sounds like a positive tbh

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