McCollum Vote on H.R. 22

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 22, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or the SAVE Act, which does nothing to protect voting rights.

House Republicans are advancing a bill that would disenfranchise millions of women and other Americans through a federal takeover of state election administration that makes it harder to vote.  Sixty-nine million American women – one out of four Americans – would face an additional burden to register to vote simply because they changed their last name after marriage.  Simply put, this Republican bill is about voter suppression.

In 2012, Minnesotans rightly rejected a state constitutional amendment that would have imposed voter ID requirements.  Each election, Minnesotans turn out at the highest levels in the nation to participate in elections that are free, fair, and secure.

Under the guise of election integrity, the Republicans’ H.R. 22 would require Minnesotans and every American to provide burdensome “documentary proof of citizenship”–similar to what Minnesotans already rejected—in order to participate in federal elections. Standard REAL IDs, Tribal IDs and military IDs alone do not meet this bill’s extreme criteria. Married women or others whose name doesn’t match their birth certificate would be required to present a passport with their current name to prove their identity and citizenship. In states like Minnesota with same-day registration, all new registrants, and those updating their registration as the result of a move or a name change, would be mandated to present their birth certificate and matching ID or a passport at the polls in order to vote.

Nearly half of Minnesotans don’t have a passport, meaning millions of voters would need to obtain one. Collectively, Minnesotans could be forced to spend over $320 million dollars, with passport applications costing more than $130 each and taking weeks for processing.  Republicans have essentially mandated a poll tax to access the fundamental right to vote.

Congress should be following Minnesota’s lead and working to make it easier for Americans to vote, not putting up roadblocks. Congress should pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act that would reinstate many of the protections in the Civil Rights Act of 1965 that were undercut by the Supreme Court in their Shelby County v. Holder decision in 2013. The bill would expand automatic voter registration and allows for same day voter registration and protects against race-based discrimination at the ballot box. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act passed the House in 2021, but House Republicans have continued to refuse to bring the bill to the House Floor for a vote.

Again, I oppose HR 22, the Republican SAVE Act, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting NO.

Thank you, and I yield back.