Patel confirmed 51-49. Fuck you McConnell
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Devious bastards.
It looks like an attack on poor people generally and poor women in particular.
The bill requires âproof of US citizenshipâ to register to vote in federal elections, not necessarily a birth certificate. But since most Americans donât hold a passport, that means a birth certificate is the first default document.
Thatâs enough of a hurdle to stop a lot of people from registration even if they can just use a birth certificate. But if your current legal name and birth certificate name donât match, your problems are just beginning.
ETA: and if someone is trans and struggling to renew a passport, this is a serious roadblock to voting.
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Next best thing, though. He may not even make to 2026, so think positive!
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Brought this up at work and the blank look from our (almost entirely women) nursing staff was priceless. âWhat do you mean we canât vote!â Pay attention to the law, ladies. A bit late now, though. And I know some of them are MAGAts.
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And itâs just one way, already, that theyâll rig the midterms. Enough to overcome the likely backlash? Ughhhhhhh
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Till tonight. When eight House Republicans, all representing very Latino districts, sent a public letter denouncing the cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and Pell grants that the House Republican leadership wants as part of that one big beautiful bill. They noted in their letter that 30 percent of those enrolled in Medicaid are Latino
Will that bit of spine prevent them from voting for it? Probably not. Theyâll just blame Dems.
Dems need to be out pounding the pavement constantly, making all the noise about what is going on. They are just sitting there, pretending this is 1970âs era politics.
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I wonder if those eight House Republicans have noticed that saying âthis will hurt Latinosâ only causes a plurality of Republicans to want to do it even more.
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So, my question here is how is this enforced? Do we all have to re-register? Do we have to bring BC to the polls? Or does this keep people from registering, while not affecting those already registered to vote? My wife is thinking she will not be able to vote again. Not sure how that would happen. It sounds like a fucking mess, and a great way to encourage young women to not marry, or at least keep their names. Not what the fascists were aiming for, i suspect.
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More attacking trans people to also attack women.
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It occurs to me (and maybe @danimagoo can weigh in) that this could be a tool to make it easier to challenge women who look ânot sufficiently feminineâ or âtoo leftyâ by fascist poll watchers rather than to actually keep women from voting, just try to keep âthe wrong onesâ from having their votes counted. Of course, keeping women from registering would be a benefit for the future, even if not immediately. Making them stay home because they think they canât vote will help them in the here and now, though.
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I read the text of the bill, which you can read yourself here if you like. I donât know, I actually kind of think this is a big nothing burger. First of all, if you have a Real ID compliant driverâs license, that is sufficient to provide proof of citizenship, per this bill. I have complaints about the Real ID, but itâs what everything is going to, so that ship seems to have sailed. Now, I realize not everyone has one of those yet, but if you donât have one, you canât even get on a plane now, unless you have a passport, which is also sufficient to be able to register to vote per this bill.
This bill doesnât contain any specific language saying that if names donât match exactly, you canât register to vote. What it does say is that if there is a discrepancy in someoneâs documentation, the states can request other evidence to resolve that discrepancy. It doesnât specify what that evidence is. I understand why people are concerned about name changes, but this is one of those things that isnât actually any different than it is today. Ever since I changed my name in 2008, I have sometimes had to provide a copy of the court order changing my name in addition to proving my birth certificate, even though I amended my birth certificate as well. I know itâs a pain if someone canât or hasnât amended their birth certificate, and if they donât have a copy of a name change court order, but thatâs been a pain for getting a driverâs license for awhile now. As for married cis women whoâs last names donât match, again, theyâre going to have to provide the same documentation they would to change their name on their driverâs license.
My biggest concern with the bill is actually for people with disabilities. If registering by mail, the bill says you still have to provide proof of citizenship in person. There is some generic language about providing reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, but who knows what red states will consider reasonable.
Overall, does this bill make it harder to register to vote? Maybe. I definitely think it will be harder for physically disabled people who canât easily get to their county clerkâs office, or wherever you register to vote in person in their state. For trans people? I think itâs the same level of difficulty as it was before. Itâs harder than it needs to be, but this bill doesnât fundamentally change anything. For recently married cis women? I donât think this changes anything for them, either. Thereâs even language in this bill that allows people who canât provide the necessary documentation to, instead, provide an affidavit certifying that they are a citizen. Itâs buried at the end of the bill, but itâs there.
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I know Iâve said this before, but Thank You for taking your time to help us understand this crap. It is very much appreciated.
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Thatâs a good question and I have no idea. If they void out everyoneâs voter reg and make us all re-register, that would mean that they could stop women in Red states from voting, lots of republican women, especially. They seem to be forgetting that itâs states that have to carry this out. So, those of us in red states might be screwed, but not women in blue states?
Yep. Pretty much. The fact that so many cis women just canât see this boggles my mind. Or maybe some are willing to give up their rights to hurt trans women, which is super-fucked up.
That right there is the thing, I think. Plus, as you say, disabled people. Pretty much all the laws that are about voting from the right tend to be just making it harder rather than denying outright. Thatâs what all the laws in the south during Jim Crow were actually like - as you know, none of them said âBlack people canât voteâ because thatâs a blatant violation of the 15th and 19th. But poll taxes and tests could be applied as state authorities like, in order to ensure some people canât vote. I suspect that that this will end up applied in similar ways. So, maybe this also gives cover for these kinds of laws to be passed in red states and together, this makes a more restrictive voting pool, which we know they want (since Vance said it often on the campaign trail).
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Yeah, Iâm not saying itâs not a problem. Iâm just saying that, to my reading, this bill doesnât change much from the status quo, except maybe for disabled people. I mean, you already have to be a citizen to register to vote in federal elections. And, again to the way I read it, this bill doesnât actually change the requirements for proving that over what they already were.
My own personal opinion is that every citizen should be automatically registered to vote. The federal government already knows who we all are already. Between social security numbers, driverâs licenses, and any number of other things we have to register with the federal government for, they know who we all are. The days of being able to exist in society as an anonymous citizen entirely off the government grid are long gone. If they wanted to, they could send us all a federal voter registration card today. WellâŚmaybe not with Elonâs Goons in charge of all the databases, but itâs certainly possible. Or, ya know, they could just keep things the way they were, because THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF VOTER FRAUD AFFECTING THE OUTCOME OF A SINGLE ELECTION IN THE LAST GOD KNOWS HOW MANY YEARS! But no matter how many times I tell this to Republican voters, I get the same response: âWell itâs hard to detect, but we all know itâs happening.â So much for âfuck your feelingsâ.
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Yeah, that!
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Here in Canada, when we file our tax returns, we just tick off âcan we use this to register you to vote?â and itâs done automatically. We do have to bring some ID to the polling station when we vote, and they physically cross your name off the list, but thatâs it.
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Here, since 1993, youâve had the option to register to vote when you get your driverâs license, and it was also as simple as checking a box. Itâs officially the 1993 Voter Registration Act that did this, and it was commonly called, at the time, the Motor Voter Act. In fact, it is this very law that is being amended by the above legislation.
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Same here in VA. The right wing hates it.
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