The House passed a bill that opponents of the bill, including all three members of New Mexico’s delegation, say would suppress voting.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on a 221-198 party line vote.

The bill seeks to require proof of American citizenship through showing identification that shows the potential voter was either born in the United States or other identification that shows the person is a United States citizen. 

“Voting is our most sacred right, and we must do everything in our power to ensure that it is protected and accessible to all citizens,” Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-New Mexico, said in a press release. “This bill, under the guise of safeguarding our electoral process, would disenfranchise millions of Americans, including servicemembers, Native Americans, women and rural communities.”

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“We have laws to protect election integrity and prevent non-citizens from voting in federal elections. The SAVE Act does not ensure election security, instead it creates significant barriers to voter registration and participation,” Vasquez’s statement said. “By voting against this bill, I am standing up for the rights of New Mexicans and all Americans to have their voices heard without unnecessary and discriminatory hurdles.”

The bill also makes it hard for those who changed their name, such as at marriage, and did not do a formal name change procedure that would have updated their birth certificate at the time of the change.

“American elections are for American citizens and we intend to keep it that way,” Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisconsin, said during the bill’s debate Wednesday. “Today we consider the SAVE Act. We’ll see if my Democratic colleagues are once again in support of non citizen voting. The SAVE Act will strengthen our election administration and restore Americans’ confidence in our elections.”

It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections.

The bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, and even so, Joe Biden’s administration indicated that he would not sign the bill.

The proofs the bill would require include a birth certificate, a final adoption decree showing the applicant’s name and that the applicant’s place of birth was in the United States or any other document or method of proof of United States citizenship issued by the Federal government pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, the SAVE Act states.

Jim Crow poll tax or just more paperwork?

The bill was championed by Republicans and opposed by Democrats during the floor debate.

One of the bill’s opponents was Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, who called the bill a Jim Crow style poll tax.

“This bill is essentially a poll tax because I’m not aware of a single proof of citizenship document that does not cost an individual money to get unless we’re requiring every state to provide one for free, and then it’s an unfunded mandate,” Sewell said. “This is the 2024 version of the Jim Crow poll tax, and we should vote against it.”

A poll tax is a tax levied as a prerequisite to vote and these taxes were declared illegal by the U.S. Constitution’s 24th Amendment in 1962.

Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, took issue with Jim Crow being referenced in the context of the SAVE Act.

“I’ve been Black for my entire life,” Hunt said. “The most racist thing I’ve ever heard is the insinuation by Democrats that Black and brown Americans are too stupid to get an ID to vote just like everybody else… We should all want free and fair elections… I have six forms of government-issue ID. How did I acquire that?  Personal responsibility in this country. I’ve also heard a lot about Jim Crow here today. I’m here to tell you, Jim Crow is over.”

What about U.S. territories?

One of the bill’s opponents was Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives Gregorio Sablan, D-Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean.

“(The SAVE Act) would deny United States citizens in my district their right to vote,” Sablan said. “This member standing here speaking in this hall, will be denied the right to vote for this seat,” Sablan said, pointing to himself. “And so for that reason, I rise in opposition to the bill.”

Sablan said that since the bill requires those registering to vote to show “proof of citizenship issued by a state or tribal tribal government but my constituents do not live in a state.” 

Other people in U.S. territories, such as Guam, Puerto Rico, Marshall Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia, would also not be able to vote in U.S. elections.

The Biden Administration issued an Office of Management and Budget Statement of Administration Policy Monday stating Biden would not sign the bill.

“The alleged justification for this bill is based on easily disproven falsehoods,” Monday’s Statement of Policy says. “Additionally, making a false claim of citizenship or unlawfully voting in an election is punishable by removal from the United States and a permanent bar to admission…. This bill would do nothing to safeguard our elections, but it would make it much harder for all eligible Americans to register to vote and increase the risk that eligible voters are purged from voter rolls.”