A Thing You Can Do Right Now To Help Protect The Right To Vote

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was established in 2002 by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). It’s an independent, bipartisan commission that offers assistance to the states in administering elections. It’s made up of four commissioners, two of whom, at the moment, are Obama appointees and two of whom are Trump appointees.

Now, they’re the epicenter of a new effort to attack the freedom to vote. The EAC is considering adopting a requirement that voters show a passport or other proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it echoes efforts by both President Trump and Congress to require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. Earlier this year, the SAVE Act, an anti-voter bill that included a similar requirement, failed in Congress thanks to widespread public opposition. The courts blocked an Executive Order by the president that would have implemented a similar policy. Now, anti-voter advocates are trying to do what neither Congress or the courts would permit, and implement the SAVE Act through the EAC.

As we’ve discussed in the past, obtaining proof of citizenship can be expensive, like obtaining a passport, which is out of reach for many voters. And it can become complicated, especially for women who may have changed their name when they married or students whose paperwork may be at home with their parents, not with them, where they vote. States have effective processes for checking citizenship before people who register are added to the voter rolls. If this measure is adopted, voters may have to register in person, impacting registration drives and online or mail registration. Eligible voters will be excluded from participating in elections if this goes through.

However, there are actions we can take right now to prevent this from happening. The EAC is accepting public comments on this issue. Anti-voter advocates have flooded their website with one-sided and misleading comments. We can fight back with comments of our own. Go here (let’s all go!) and explain our view on this subject, click here.

You may want to review some of our earlier posts to give you ideas about the points you want to make:

• When a judge blocked Trump’s attempt to do this by Executive Order, we reviewed the statistics and reasons eligible voters might not have ready access to proof of citizenship.

• The SAVE Act and special issues women face.

• Protecting the right to vote.

This show-your-papers policy could block millions of American citizens from voting. Speaking out against it is an easy and important step we can take right now. When you’re ready, go to the EAC website:

• Go to the petition and click “comment”.

• Share why you oppose this proof of citizenship requirement.

• Choose whether to share your name and information or submit your comment anonymously.

The show-your-papers requirement was a bad idea when Congress tried to do it with the SAVE Act. Half of all Americans don’t have a passport. If this change to voter registration is implemented, it will become more difficult for eligible American citizens to vote. Voting is a right, not a privilege. Every citizen should be able to participate in our elections easily, without the federal government throwing up artificial barriers that prevent us from exercising our rights.

Go leave your comment now, and share this with friends. The public comment period runs until October 20th, but don’t wait. Let’s good out there right now and flood the zone with common sense about voting.

We’re in this together,

Joyce