Opposing Legislative Voter Suppression

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. ANSARI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in firm opposition to the Republican passage of the so-called SAVE Act, an act of legislative voter suppression that will make it much harder for most people to vote, the cornerstone of our democracy.

This bill, which just passed the Republican House, is designed to combat a nonexistent problem. Noncitizens are already not allowed to vote under Federal law. Instances of fraudulent, noncitizen voting are exceedingly rare. You are literally more likely to get struck by lightning than encounter noncitizen voting.

To address this made-up problem, Republicans have passed a draconian bill that would make it extremely difficult and costly for servicemembers, married women, and disadvantaged Americans to register to vote.

In most cases it requires a person to present their birth certificate matching a current ID. There are no exceptions for the 70 million American women who changed their married name.

This bill also mandates in-person visits to register to vote, disenfranchising potentially tens of thousands of deployed servicemembers, as well as Native Americans in rural areas like northern Arizona. This is a shocking act of voter suppression.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source