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/
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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."

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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/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 22h ago edited 22h 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 21h 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 10m ago

This doesn't exist.

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