I’m a married woman. I have four separate documents that serve as proof of my American citizenship.
And yet, this documentation is exactly what opponents of the SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act) are claiming is impossible.
Recently, the Guardian published a flawed column claiming that the SAVE Act would create a “logistical nightmare” for married women by preventing them from using birth certificates that don’t match their current legal names. The article declared that 69 million women did not have birth certificates that matched their married name and insinuated that disenfranchisement would occur on this scale.
Clearly, no birth certificate will reflect a married woman’s new name, unless she specifically requests that change; it will reflect her maiden name. The article fixated on this fact as a barrier to voting access for married women, alleging that there is no specific provision in the SAVE Act for women to provide their birth certificate and a marriage license as proof of citizenship.
This argument falls apart when one reads the text of the SAVE Act, however, because that exact combination of documents should in fact be accepted as proof of citizenship by any election
official.
Here’s why:
If you walk up to the election office to register to vote, bringing your birth certificate and marriage certificate, this would be the process: You would present both documents, the election official would note your citizenship, and you would be free to register to vote.
The text of the SAVE Act states that you can provide 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.” Under the requirements of the REAL ID Act of 2005, a birth certificate in combination with a marriage certificate satisfies the citizenship proof requirements.
In fact, these are exactly the documents I presented to the DMV four years ago when I moved and needed to update my identification. And they issued me a REAL ID, which, under the SAVE Act, is all I would need to provide to prove that I’m a citizen of the United States.
To claim that these documents are not sufficient is not just wrong; it’s an insult to the intelligence of all married women. Do opponents of the SAVE Act really think we can’t read the bill and clearly see that there is no barrier to voting access? Why do they persist in promulgating complete lies and fearmongering?
Here’s what the SAVE Act really does:
It amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for registering to vote in federal elections. Acceptable documents include a REAL ID, a U.S. passport, a certified birth certificate, a naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship, certain military or tribal documents indicating citizenship or birthplace, and certain other federal documents proving citizenship under immigration law.
The SAVE Act also includes an additional provision intended to ensure that no one is accidentally disenfranchised. The bill establishes a uniform affidavit system whereby the election worker registering someone to vote can evaluate the presented documents and affirm that this person is a citizen and eligible to vote. This is yet another functional safeguard for resolving the birth certificate plus marriage certificate scenario.
Marriage certificates alone do not prove citizenship, which is why they are not listed as a standalone document under options for proving citizenship. But they clearly are included in the bill text as a method of proving a name change.
Married women are competent. We know that the SAVE Act isn’t a scheme aimed at mass disenfranchisement. Those who claim it are ignoring the bill’s specific provisions for affidavits and compliant documents related to name changes. No one is losing access to voting because of this bill. Rather, the votes not just of married women but of all eligible Americans will be protected under the SAVE Act—because only American citizens should decide American elections.
Anna Pingel is the Policy Campaign Director for Secure Elections at the America First Policy Institute.