Welp! It’s time to call or email our Pennsylvania Senators… again. I know, it’s exhausting. It’s always something with this administration. 🌪️ This time, we’re calling our senators to urge them to oppose the SAVE Act suite of bills.

Stretch and strengthen those dialing and typing fingers. Make ’em pretty too if that suits you. 💅🏻 I’m afraid this here rodeo ain’t over yet. Sigh…

This time, our Washington wizards are trying to push legislation through Congress that would significantly change voting rules. You’ve probably already heard about it, but the SAVE Act¹ would require documentary proof of citizenship to register and/or to vote. There are three different bills related to this topic, and the non-partisan League of Women Voters calls them the “SAVE Act suite of bills.”

Image of the top of the declaration of independence saying "we the people"

But what’s wrong with needing proof of citizenship?

On the surface, the legislation seems fine. What’s the big deal about having to show proof of citizenship to vote? There’s a huge campaign underway to convince you that “everyone wants this” and “it’s so stupidly obvious that we should pass this bill,” but don’t be fooled by the propaganda.

The devil is in the details. Isn’t that always the case?

That’s why non-partisan voting rights activists are screaming from the rooftops about the harm this suite of bills will cause if passed.

First, there is no voter fraud crisis to fix. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada (am I allowed to use Spanish? 🪇).

How many times will we have to say this??! 😩 Ineligible voters are not voting in any way that has a meaningful impact on federal elections… at all. This “problem” is one of imagination, driven by the fear that their policies alone can’t win elections, so they need to keep people from voting to retain power.

Second, there are extensive “unintended” consequences of this legislation. I put “unintended” in quotes because they’re “unintended” for normies (like me and you) but very much intentional for the people designing and voting on the legislation. They know exactly what they are doing!

Third, this legislation is being pushed through just a few months before mid-term elections. Seasoned election officials and experts contend the system needs at least a year to safely and coherently implement any significant changes in how elections operate.

💰 Pssst…. Want to really talk about election integrity? Let’s talk about campaign finance reform. But that’s probably not a hot topic for the man who has made $4 Billion (with a B) since taking office just this term. You keep milking that cow that is America, Donold, while we all pay higher prices for real milk (raw, whole, skim, take your pick). 🐮

⚖️ Oh, you wanted to talk about gerrymandering instead of campaign finance reform because that’s perverted election integrity, too? Sure, let’s chat!

Changing ID requirements for government activities takes WAY more than 9 months!

Friends, do you know how long it takes to change government ID requirements? Let’s travel down memory lane and look at the REAL ID requirements for air travel. ✈️

May 11, 2005 – President Bush signs the REAL ID Act, requiring a REAL ID to board a plane.
2008 – Intended year to take effect (based on the initial legislation). They planned for a 3-year implementation period (not 9 months 😉).
May 7, 2025 – Final effective date of REAL ID Act requirements

This federal rule, which standardized identification requirements (sound familiar?), was supposed to take effect in 2008. It ultimately went into effect on May 7, 2025. It took 17 years!!! 17 years?!! 🤯

We managed that timeline when we were afraid of terrorists blowing up airplanes, not a few voters who might put a slip of paper in a box without permission (that we can remove later during ballot audits and reconciliations).

Moreover, the REAL ID Act concerns travel, a nice little luxury, not a constitutional right as fundamental as voting. So if the stakes are high to get these rules right without unintended disenfranchisement, voting rights should be a much bigger deal (if you care or even pretend to care about democracy) than making my flight to Cancun. 🌞

That REAL ID law change faced widespread opposition from states, privacy concerns, costs of upgrading systems, and various other implementation challenges. And it only applies to people who have the time and means to travel. All of these same concerns will apply to the requirement for new voting documentation, but on a much larger scale.

Do we understand the massive communication and marketing efforts to reach all eligible voters in the United States and explain what they’ll need to do to exercise their right to vote under the new rules? And without that, it’s nothing but an intentional barrier to prevent eligible voters from casting their votes.

Who’s paying for the Public Service campaign to teach citizens about the new rules? Our tax dollars? I’ve read the bill, and there’s not a lick of information in there about it. I have a sneaky feeling the people voting for this bill hope it stays a secret and doesn’t spread beyond those screaming into the void about 📣 “BUT DEMOCRACY!!”

Do we understand the grand undertaking to implement these changes and ensure that proper policies and procedures are in place to protect election security and guarantee that eligible voters are not unfairly disenfranchised?

Who’s paying for any new forms of ID people need? Our tax dollars? Because if those new IDs aren’t free, that’s effectively a poll tax (which is illegal).

Many people want strong election security. I agree (and we already have it in many ways). Voter confidence is important. Unfortunately, our elections are wildly corrupt due to issues like campaign finance bologna and gerrymandering; voter fraud is hardly the problem.

Voter access also matters a lot. If laws require voter ID, those IDs should be easy to obtain, widely available, and built into a system that ensures eligible voters are not turned away. This legislation does not offer that solution.

In short, this legislation creates unnecessary administrative burdens on an absurd timeline and real-life burdens for eligible voters all to “solve” a MADE-UP PROBLEM. It’s a huge waste of time and money that will prevent many people from voting because they lack the time, resources, or information needed to navigate the additional loopholes. That is on purpose!

One big question I haven’t found an answer to: how does this apply to registered voters who haven’t shown any citizenship documentation in the past? If it wasn’t already required by the state, do we ALL have to essentially “re-register” by the next election? Or are we ‘grandfathered’ into the system? I bet I can tell you what Donold wants the answer to be. ☠️

🚨 Guys, where is Elon when we need him?! DOGE would never allow this level of administrative waste! 🫶🏻

The impacts are not partisan

Communities of eligible voters across the country would be unnecessarily burdened by the requirements of the SAVE Act. In almost all states, including Pennsylvania, a driver’s license does not show citizenship, so it will not suffice to validate voter eligibility. Some groups impacted include:

Military voters, who would be required to present documentation every time they re-register to vote when their family moves.
Families affected by natural disasters who have lost important documentation would be required to jump through hoops to replace it while also going through the traumatic process of rebuilding their lives.
Married women and other Americans who have changed their names would also be required to secure updated documentation to register to vote.
Young voters who move frequently and must register in each new voting jurisdiction (often a new county) but don’t always have easy access to citizenship documents.
Older voters with limited mobility or transportation who may not have easy access to a government office to show physical proof of citizenship.
People in rural communities who have to travel long distances to show proof of citizenship.
People with jobs that can’t miss time to get to a government facility during business hours and wait for hours or an entire day for their turn to show the government information already in government systems.
People of color. Compared to white US citizens, citizens of color are three times more likely to lack documents such as birth certificates, passports, naturalization certificates, or certificates of citizenship or face difficulties accessing them.

Friends, look at that list. It encompasses “traditional” voters from both sides of the aisle. What are we doing here?

To further reiterate the point, let’s use myself as an example. I’m a married white woman, born in the United States, with a passport. The government already knows I am a citizen. I typically vote by mail. The government can match my ballot to my passport record as a citizen (I’ve already endured the arduous burden of obtaining a passport). They can verify that there’s only one ballot that matches my voter roll record. Voila! 🪄So easy.

Instead, this new law requires me to show up at the DMV during working hours and wait in line for hours to present the passport they already know I have (because they issued it to me). As if the lines at the DMV aren’t already long enough, multiply that effort by everyone who moves or needs to register to vote. For what purpose? Systematic voter fraud is an imaginary problem. It’s fake news.

💭 Food for thought: The government surveils every damn thing we do and has spent billions of dollars on new surveillance systems to track down noncitizens (that can easily be used on everyone). The government knows where we are nearly every second of the day, can build deep profiles of us using just our license plates or facial recognition, and companies like Palatir are making that surveillance easier and more streamlined.

Meanwhile, companies like Amazon are in bed with the government and trying to get us to pay for their in-home surveillance through features like “Search Party” under the ruse of finding a lost dog. The government probably knows what I ate for breakfast, and the last dream I had, and I’m supposed to believe that making everyone buy passports is the thing that’s going to prevent massive election fraud?! Can you tell I’m slightly skeptical of the motives?

This is a disingenuous argument

This legislation suggests a false dichotomy that we can’t have free and fair elections without these burdensome new rules. It pits perfect election compliance against reasonable and robust election security measures that also maximize eligible voter participation.

We could add layer upon layer of steps to ensure that absolutely zero people vote illegally. These strict regulations prevent millions of eligible voters from voting because the process becomes too burdensome. I’ll call this the “guilty until proven innocent” option; we’re willing to harm a bunch of eligible voters, so no fraudulent voter ever casts a ballot.

We could have robust election protection measures in place so that, even if a handful of people vote improperly, the violators are prosecuted, and their actions have no meaningful impact on election results. We’ll call this the “innocent until proven guilty” option: we accept that a few fraudulent voters might slip through the cracks (without meaningfully affecting election outcomes), so that millions of eligible voters receive fair and just treatment.

Which do we want? Which do you want? I’m a fan of being innocent until proven guilty. I hope you are too.

Contact our Pennsylvania Senators

Now is the time to call or email both of Pennsylvania’s senators and let them know you want them to oppose the SAVE Act suite of bills. This is about democracy. Making it easier for eligible voters to exercise their constitutional voting rights while maintaining robust election security measures (which we already have) should not be a partisan issue.

Voting is in its “use it or lose it” era. Let’s use it and make sure others can too.

The SAVE Act already passed in the House. But there is a higher bar to pass the Senate, where they will likely vote on it next week. There’s still time to contact our senators and use your voices to let them know where we stand. Ask them to oppose these and related bills that will make voting much harder for people who have the right to vote!

Contact John Fetterman here and Dave McCormick here. Below, I shared the email I sent to each of them (it’s just my silly little words, not some fancy template from an expert in an ivory tower). Feel free to use it as a starting point and make it your own… or don’t.

Hello Senator,

I am a Pennsylvania constituent writing to ask that you oppose the SAVE Act Suite of bills. While the notion that we should have to show ID to vote seems logical on the surface, its unintended consequences are anti-democratic. There is also a lot more in the bill than just voter ID requirements that also disenfranchise voters.

If we believe in democracy, we should be making it easier for eligible voters to vote, not more difficult. The facts lay bare that voter fraud is not a systemic problem. The SAVE Act suite of bills set out to “fix” a problem that does not exist.

I urge you to oppose any of these bills that would make it more difficult for Americans of all stripes to vote (military people who move often, women who’ve changed their name due to marriage, young people who move frequently, anyone who doesn’t have easy access to their citizenship documents, even if they are eligible to vote). This bill does not help restore power to the people or strengthen our democracy. Please oppose these bills.

Democracy. Pass it on. 🗳️

P.S. Anyone who’s really brave enough to tackle a lack of election integrity will be talking about corrupt financing and gerrymandering, not fake voters. Full stop.

Large donors effectively get to put their thumbs on the scale more than the rest of us. How is that any different than saying rich people can cast multiple votes? Isn’t that the exact situation this legislation is supposedly trying to prevent?

Gerrymandering puts electoral power into the hands of party operatives and takes it away from everyday citizens. Isn’t that just another way to give “extra votes” to people in certain positions of power? That also seems contrary to the supposed intent of this legislation.

💸 Campaign finance corruption and gerrymandering are far more coordinated, calculated, and consequential forms of election corruption than Wall Street Joe or PTO Pam casting ballots at both their winter home and their summer beach house. And if we’re worried about a bunch of “illegals” prancing to the polls to cast ballots (which is not happening btw), then ICE must really stink at their job. 💩