SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — The Illinois House Ethics and Elections Committee heard heated testimony over the potential impact of the proposal on Illinois voters and its impact on voters’ ability to vote.
The U.S House passed a controversial Resolution, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, also known as the SAVE Act, that would require proof of citizenship for anyone registering to vote or renewing their registration with a birth certificate or passport.
Committee Chair Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford) opened the hearing by pointing to the committee’s goal, which is to be “proactive rather than reactive” to the proposal change that could affect future voting. Some exchanges were rather the other way.
During the hearing, supporters said the federal proposal is about protecting the integrity of the election as they point out that non-citizens could vote in the election without being well aware. The opponents argued by saying the change would disenfranchise millions of Americans, including people with disabilities and women.
Kerri Toloczko from Election Integrity Network was the only supporter to testify for the SAVE Act.
She said the checkbox at the DMV is not enough and the SAVE Act will protect both citizens and non-citizens from voting fraud.
“The mechanism for attesting that a new registrant is a U.S. citizen and eligible to vote is a small checkbox on a federal postcard voter registration form, did not include proof that the registrant is a U.S. citizen, that is simply what the SAFE Act does,” Toloczko said. “Those of us who have concerns about non-citizen voting are also often told, well it’s already illegal so no need for the SAFE Act. A law by itself doesn’t prevent a whole lot.”
Eli Brottman, Policy director from Change Illinois, and five other supporters argued that the number of voting fraud cases is rare and instead the act would create more barriers for Americans and women whose names may not match because of marriage.
“For the 84% of women who are married who changed their surnames, transgender individuals and others, this presents a problem,” Brottman said. “Disenfranchising millions of voters, including disproportionately women and people of color, will drastically change the outcome of elections.”
Pew Research found that about 80 percent of women change their name after getting married and 34 percent said they would if they were to get married. This means over 5.1 million women in Illinois could be affected under the SAVE Act because their current name would not match their birth certificate.
Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Collinsville), who was present at the committee, said she could have been among the women affected because of her name change. But because she travels, she has a Real ID and passport. However, her mother-in-law and people with disabilities could very much be affected.
“Many women have changed their names. I am one of those women. I happen to have a REAL ID and a passport, but I have an 85-year-old mother-in-law who’s been Sandy Stewart for as long as she can probably remember,” Stuart said. “But that’s not her birth name. Her birth certificate does not match her ID. And if my mother-in-law were to move, she would lose her ability to be a registered voter.”
Toloczko said the states have some authority to make voting guidelines to ease burdens on disabilities and women could prove their name change.
“The SAVE Act very specifically and deliberately gives power to the states, just like in Illinois, the right to write those laws of registration the way you want them. So if you want people to vote or to register online, you can do that. They only have to provide proof of citizenship. And I believe that people with disabilities are just as capable of doing that as able-bodied people,” Toloczko said. “And pardon me for saying this is insulting to a lot of women to imply that somehow they can’t manage to get an ID or they can’t manage to find their birth certificate or their marriage license.”
The SAVE Act passed the House and is now headed to the U.S. Senate, where they will vote on whether to implement the proof of citizenship in order to vote. There may be a chance for a filibuster since the Senate Republicans don’t have 60 votes, which is required to facilitate the passage of the SAVE Act.
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