39 Comments
User's avatar
Kathleen's avatar

"This weekend, the Republicans thrashed about in the Senate like rotting, mildly electrocuted trout as they attempted to pass the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) America Act — a bill that would disenfranchise millions of Americans in the name of preventing voter fraud that doesn’t exist"

This description is perfect encapsulation of this bill and bravo for highlighting up front that the "fraud" Republicans are addressing does not exist. Also, congratulations to the reporter who asked Mike Johnson to provide one example.

Leu2500's avatar

"But married women lean Republican (50 to 45 percent). More, it seems likely that Democratic married women are more likely to not change their names at marriage."

I'm not a political scientist, voting specialist, etc. But even I knew this & could see how it could backfire. Oh, & add that a lot of those women are seniors.

Susanna J. Sturgis's avatar

Whenever I see stats on "married women," I assume that mostly *heterosexually married* women are being counted. Single women and lesbians tend to vote for Democrats. When the stats are broken down by white/Black, you could drive an 18-wheeler through the discrepancy.

David Krupp's avatar

Vote every single Republican out of office. Vote FOR these Democrats for the SENATE:

OH: Sherrod Brown, AK: Mary Peltola, TX: James Talarico, GA: John Ossoff, NC: Roy Cooper.

Thomas Locatell's avatar

Graham Platner, please vote for him

Karla Ward's avatar

Michigan: Mallory McMorrow

Hannah's avatar

The Secretary of State in WA posted yesterday that there's no money budgeted to enforce the SAVE Act if somehow it's passed. From his remarks, it seems that he is not searching for the funds.

Besides the reasons it's such a horrible idea, I can't imagine how states would implement it.

DR Darke's avatar

"Besides the reasons it's such a horrible idea, I can't imagine how states would implement it."

They'd make their already overworked, mostly volunteer, pollworkers do that—then hold the ones that didn't persecute it with sufficient rigor up as examples of "Marxist Libburul fraud", like Rudy Giuliani did to Ruby and Shaye Moss.

Hannah's avatar

Not where I live. The state government respects workers and appreciates volunteers. Nut jobs like Guiliani would never get traction here.

DR Darke's avatar

His Rudeness do what he did in that case—demand a change of venue to the DC U.S. District Court, or some other court where he thought he could find a judge who'd support him!

Leu2500's avatar

"It's a half-baked attempt at election rigging"

You mean like redrawing the Congressional map in TX?

What else do you expect from the felon?

Grace Doolittle's avatar

The writing in this piece is delicious, it was a treat to read!

M Apodaca's avatar

We need ID for lots of stuff. That’s not the same as proof of citizenship. I have a driver’s license, birth certificate and long-expired passport and I could lose my right to vote if I don’t get that passport re-issued at $$$.

DR Darke's avatar

I have a current passport and birth certificate because I recently got divorced, and they never got back to me somehow.... 🤔

I suspect my ex-wife's former assistant might have found it in the safe where we kept our valuable paperwork, and..."misplaced" it.

M Apodaca's avatar

You sound like a man so you probably haven’t changed your name. I’m sorry those items are missing but they won’t keep you from voting even with SAVE.

DR Darke's avatar

Yes, they will, and you need to stop LYING about it, right now.

Even though I am a man, I used to be married, and I have nieces and transgender relatives, and I think they ALL deserve the right to vote same as I do.

So stop lying, turn off False Noize and Nuwzmux, and sit in the corner and think about what kind of horrible subhuman you are to spread these falsehoods.

Selah.

PS: You're not a "concerned citizen", you're a Good German. Be ashamed.

Heidi in Montana's avatar

I've seen little discussion on how this would be a bureaucratic nightmare for election administrators of both parties not long before a major election. The county government of my very red area has always done a good job with elections and surely they don't want this stupid act to pass, even if they are Trump supporters. Loads of mail-in ballots from loads of GOP voters have been processed here with no problem for years.

Mark In Colorado's avatar

I suspect that the rates of lead and arsenic levels in drinking water are higher than the rates of voter fraud.

Especially in rethuglican states. But then, if that’s true, high lead buildup in the brain could explain the profound lack of intelligence in so many rethuglican members of Congress.

Sarah Ann Gilbert (she/her)'s avatar

I would read the heck out of a post that talks about how much the word LOOK is doing for Republicans when they are asked a question that they cannot answer. It’s an insanely overused rhetorical device these days. I’m so tired of it!

jane's avatar

Thank you, Mr. Berlatsky.

Scott Whitmire's avatar

“Requiring voters who vote by mail to submit a photocopy of their ID.”

How does anyone think this will prevent anything, let alone fraud? What are they supposed to compare this photocopy to? The practical effect of this is that they will continue to match signatures and it will just make voting by mail that much more difficult. It’s stupid to think this will make a difference in any way.

David J. Sharp's avatar

How is requiring a passport - *I* don’t have a passport - and its cost NOT a poll tax? (And h-oh Mr. Locatell beat me to it!)

DR Darke's avatar

"Oh, Poll Tax!

"How I love ya! How i love ya!

"Mah deah ole Poll Tax!"

https://youtu.be/vgkQFHc8CTU?t=94

David J. Sharp's avatar

I’d give the world to be

Not in Mississip-pi

Even though my mammy’s

Waiting foe me,

Praying for me

Down by the Swanee

The folks up north won’t see me there

As if they care,

“One more darkie disappeared!”

Thomas Locatell's avatar

Translation: it's a poll tax with a lot of other cracks to fall through. Those kind of cracks have been swallowing lower class people for decades. From work requirements to endless recertifications to byzantine, bureacratic bullshit they are features of the systems not bugs. Ask me how I know.

DR Darke's avatar

I don't have to—been there, done that, have the (former) Non-Driver ID, Driver's License, Birth Certificate, Social Security Card, and Passport to prove it.

NanceeM's avatar

Do enough Americans have any awareness or care enough to pull us back from the edge, where we hang by our fingernails? I read that SCOTUS is likely to rule against the longstanding practice of allowing mailed votes to be counted beyond official election day, already having ruled that USPS cannot be held accountable even if mail is deliberately withheld from delivery. The authoritarian takeover is progressing, with unanswered gains every day.

noeire's avatar

Thank you for this piece. Now I continuously think of Ben Franklin's observation: it's a republic, if you can keep it. Can we? 1760s--revolution; 1860s--nearly successful takeover by oligarchs based on enslaved labor; 1960s--finally a civil rights breakout; 1970s--oligarchs and former gop start toppling successes of 1960s; 2000--scotus coup; 2021--potus coup attempt. This is the US track record-??