By Floyd Madrid
*This op-ed was written by a guest contributor, and any opinions expressed are those of the author and are not intended to represent the views or policies of the Dale County Chronicle. If you would like to submit an op-ed for consideration, email [email protected].
Is the Save Act Worth the Squeeze?
With the midterm elections coming up, there’s chatter throughout the United States whether the election process is safe and secure. The current administration’s predominant theory is the United States elections are riddled with election fraud and millions of illegal immigrants are voting. This rhetoric is nonsense and creates an atmosphere of mistrust with our institutional voting process. Studies throughout academia have proven voter fraud is minimal and, in many cases, nonexistent. A Brookings Institute study1 showed the percentage of fraudulent votes across many years showed fraud occurring between a range of 0.0001522% to 0.0000294%. The Brookings Institute study showed that The Heritage Foundation analyzed Georgia elections for 27 years, studied 34 elections, reviewed 64,742,598 votes and found 23 cases of reported fraud. The percentage of fraudulent votes in Georgia for this period was, wait for it…… 0.0000355%. Ask yourself, should I be worried about voter fraud, and should I worry about having to track down my birth certificate to prove I am a citizen of the United States? The current administration is pushing hard for Congress to pass the Save Act, and should it pass, you will have to track down your birth certificate to prove your identity. All to prevent 0.000152% voter fraud. Don’t we have more important things to worry about, like, for instance, gas prices?
If Congress gains traction to pass the Save Act, the bill will require individuals to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.2 The SAVE Act hasn’t passed yet; however, the momentum to pass it is growing. Arguments abound whether it’s a voter identification requirement or a proof of citizenship requirement. As stated in the bill’s summary, it “requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.” The SAVE Act is a “proof of citizenship” requirement, bottom line, to battle a 0.000152% chance of a noncitizen voting in a federal election. The specific requirements have not been fully explained, but the most accepted document to prove citizenship is your birth certificate. Another document that is proof of citizenship is a United States passport. How many of us have passports?
Those without a certified birth certificate may face difficulties. Those citizens without a copy of their birth certificate or without a passport will have to obtain one or the other, and in both cases, you’ll have to pay a nominal fee for them. In Alabama3 the cost to obtain a birth certificate is $15.00, an additional copy costs $6.00, and for an expedited request, it will cost you an additional $15.00. If you urgently need a birth certificate, it will cost $30.00. One other thing, in Alabama, you must pay with check or money order, and fees are not refundable! If you think $30.00 is high, how about obtaining a passport? Passport fees depend on your age, if you want a passport book, passport card, or both documents, how fast you need your passport, where you apply and if you have a lost or damaged passport from a major disaster. The passport book costs $130.00, and a $35.00 facility acceptance fee, for a total fee of $165.00. All those fees, all that paperwork, all the frustration to battle 0.000152% voter fraud.
Do you think it is worth it? I don’t. It’s another effort to disenfranchise voters, those who can least afford it and will most likely abandon their effort to participate in their constitutional right to vote. Don’t let that happen, call, write, and email your Senators and House Representatives. Let them know the squeeze isn’t worth the juice. 0.000152%!
Floyd Madrid, the author of this op-ed, serves as the County Chair of the Dale County Democratic Party and is not employed by the Dale County Chronicle.
