Atlanta – The United States Chamber approved on Thursday Legilation that requires a documentary evidence of American citizenship for any person registered to vote, something that the voting group warned privileges of their rights to millions of Americans.
The requirement has been a main priority related to the elections for President Donald Trump and the Republicans of the House of Representatives, who argue that it is necessary to eliminate the vote cases of non -citizens, which is already weird and, as numerous cordin of state, it is axical axical axical axical axical axical of numerous.
It is already illegal according to the federal law for people who are not US citizens issue votes and can cause charges for serious crimes and deportation.
The bill, known as the American Voting Elegance Law of Safeguard, or Save’s Law, is now addressed to the Senate, where its destiny is uncertain because Republicans do not have a majority large enough to avoid a filibuster.
Here is a look at key issues in the debate on a citizen requirement test to vote:
Who would be affected if the bill becomes law?
If Angelly becomes the law, Save’s law would immediately enter into force and apply to all voter registration requests.
“This has no impact on people who are currently registered to vote,” said representative Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican who has been advocating the bill.
Voting rights groups say there is more in history. The law would affect voters who are already registered if they move, change their name or need to update their registration. That was recognized to some extent by the author of the bill, Republican representative Chip Roy or Texas, during a recent audience on legislation.
“The idea here is that people can vote continuous if they are registered,” Roy said. “If they have been an intermediate event or if the states because to clean the rolls, people would appear to register to demonstrate their citizenship so that we could convert our system at some reasonable time to a mentioned registration system.”
What documents would be required to register?
Save’s Law forces States to reject any application for voters registration in which the applicant has not submitted “citizenship documentary evidence of the United States.”
Among the acceptable documents to demonstrate the citizenship test are:
-A driver’s license that meets the real identification that “indicates that the applicant is a citizen.”
– A valid American passport.
– A military identification card with a military service record that lists the applicant’s birthplace as in the United States
-A Valid Photo ID issued by the Government that shows that the birthday of the applicant was in the United States
-A Valid Photo ID issued by the Government presented with a document as a certified birth certificate that shows that the birthplace was in the United States
What happens if my driver’s license does not list my birthplace or indicates that I am an American citizen?
In general, driver’s licenses do not list a birthplace or indicate that the card owner is also a citizen, many who meet real identification.
The Congress approved the real ID in 2005 to establish minimum standards for ICH as driving licenses and requires that applicants provide a social security number and demonstrate a legal status as a citizen or legal resident.
After years of delays, any driver’s license used for identification to go through airport’s safety will have to be real from May 7.
Althegh’s states designate compliance with the real identification of driver’s licenses with a brand as a gold or black star, which would only not indicate US citizenship. People who are legal but not citizens can also obtain real identification.
Currently, states are not obliged to label IDS with a “citizen” brand, Althehegh, a handful of states (Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washon) sacrifice an alternative of truth only citizen that could meet the requirements of the Salvation Law. Republicans say they expect more states to move in the direction of ID indicating citizens.
“The structure is implemented now, I think there are at least five states that have citizenship status as part of real identification, it encourages more states to do so,” Roy said. “That would be part of the goal here.”
The adoption of real ID has been slow. As of January 2024, around 56% of driver’s licenses and ID in the US. UU. They cut the real identification, coordination to the data collected by the Department of National Security.
What about people who cannot access birth certificates or mariardies?
The group of votes says that the list of documents does not consider that the realities that millions of Americans who do not have easy access to their birth certificates and half that do not have an American passport.
They also care about additional obstacles for women whose birth certificates do not match their current identifications because they have changed their name after marrying. There were examples of these local delivery elections last month in New Hampshire, which recently implemented a citizenship requirement test to vote.
Republicans say that there is a provision in Save’s law that direct states develop a process to accept supplementary documents such as a marriage certificate, which could block the connection between a birth certificate and an identification of the government in offspring.
They argue that the process is similar to obtaining an American passport or a driver’s license that meets real identification.
“We have mechanisms that give the state quite significant defense to determine how to structure the situation in which an individual has a change of name,” Roy said. “The process is specifically contemplated in this legislation.”
Democrats counteract that the bill should specifically have how this should be done, instead of creating the potential to have 50 different rules.
How do people present their documents?
The legislation says that the applicants who present the federal voter registration form by email present Documentary test of US citizenship in person to their electoral office under a deadline established by their state.
Voting rights groups have noticed that this would be a great barrier for people living in more rural parts in the country, where the closest electoral office could be at hours away by car.
Save’s Law directs the States, in consultation with the United States Electoral Assistance Commission, to ensure that “reasonable adaptations” are made to allow people with disabilities who present the form to provide citizenship test to its electoral official.
The legislation also considers that some states allow the registration of voters the same day and says that, in those cases, voters must obtain citizenship in their voting location “no later than the date of the elections.”
That would mean that people who do not have such evidence with them would have to return with their documents before nearby surveys to register and tell their vote.
It is less clear what this means for them the states that have online voter registration systems or automatic voter registration established through the motorized vehicle agency of their status. Democratic state electoral officials have raised Conns that legislation means that thesis processes would no longer be operational under the proposal.
The legislation says that any person registered through a state motorized vehicle agency must also provide citizenship test. He directs the Electoral Assistance Commission to issue orientation to state electoral officials on the implementation of the requirements of the law.
Why did the Republicans mention this?
Republicans say that any vote instance by non -citizens, regardless of how strange, be unacceptable and undermines confidence in US elections.
Democrats respond by saying that the vote by non -citizens is already illegal in federal elections, those of the president and the congress, and the sanctions can result in fines and deportation. They say that Congress should be more focused on helping States improve their ability to identify and eliminate non -citizens who can end up voting lists instead of forcing everyone to prove citizens in advance.
A recent review in Michigan identified 15 people who seem to be non -citizens who voted in the 2024 general elections, of more than 5.7 million votes cast in the state. Of these, 13 were sent to the Attorney General for possible criminal charges. One involved a voter who since then died, and the final case is still under investigation.
“Our careful review confirms what we already knew: that this illegal activity is very strange,” said Michigan’s Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, in a statement. “While we take all the violations of the electoral law very seriously, this small fraction of potential cases in Michigan already national level we do not justify the recent laws of efforts that we know that would block tens of thousands of citizens of Michigan who vote in the future” “” “”
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