Thinking Out Loud

By Sal Giarratani

There Is Absolutely Nothing Wrong with the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act

I have been reading up on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility or SAVE America Act pushing strict proof-of-citizenship requirements for voters ahead of midterms and I believe the SAVE Act is an important piece of legislation long overdue.

The need for voters showing up at the polls is more important now more than ever. Back when I first started voting, I always knew the poll workers at my old voting precincts and they knew me. I never thought of the need to show identification, it wasn’t needed. However, times have changed. Today, we seemingly have become a nation of strangers. I now believe that voters presenting themselves at the polls should be able to show proof of who they say they are. When my daughter first started to vote back in 2004, she was so surprised that no one asked for proof of her identity when she went to vote for the very first time and wondered why. I told her now the system seems to assume that no one would ever lie to them and, therefore, “Here’s your ballot whoever you say you are and go over there and vote.”

I support passage of the SAVE America Act. Recent polls show that most people also support voter identification to register to vote and to show up at the polls to vote. Nearly 83 percent of Americans have no problem with Voter IDs.

However, when the House voted on this new requirement, it mostly passed on a party-line vote, 218-213 with almost all Democrats voting down Photo IDs.

I have noticed recently how Democrats up on Capitol Hill have been scare mongering. I read that US Rep. Katherine Clark, D-5th CD, was recently telling voters that if the SAVE Act passed, it could prevent many female voters the right to vote if they were married and are now using their marriage name. This is all pure baloney. Nothing in this Trump-supported legislation would prevent any registered voter from voting. Also, bemoaning poor people who don’t have any photo ID is more fake outrage. The other day I purchased a new camera, paid for it with a check and needed to show my driver’s license before I could buy it. Democrats think any kind of voting identification to vote is a form of voting suppression. Whether or not voter fraud happens isn’t the question. The question is are we doing the best we can to guard against voter fraud to protect the integrity of the electoral system.

Why did the overwhelming majority of House Democrats vote against the SAVE Act while an overwhelming majority of voters, all kinds of voters, all colors, all ages support proving who you are at election time? Photo Ids to vote isn’t controversial, it’s common sense. Democrats need to start listening to their constituents more and stop with all their political shenanigans and double-talk.