1. United States
2. Neb.
3. Letter

I am writing out of concern over the SAVE America Act now being discussed in congress. This legislation would do far more to hinder Americans voting rights than it would to prevent voter fraud. First, more than 140 million Americans do not have a passport, including many elderly Americans who have lived and worked here all their lives. But the cost of obtaining a passport is prohibitive for many of them. Money should not be the thing that prevents someone from participating in democracy. 69 million women (myself included) who have taken their spouse’s last name do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name. Again, the cost and difficulty of obtaining a new birth certificate may be prohibitive for many women. While I know the concerns of transgender people are not a high priority for the Republican party, these Americans are nonetheless citizens with just as much right to vote as anyone else, and a changed name should not hold them back any more than it should for a woman who takes her husbands name. More stringent requirements are also a big hurdle for the thousands of Americans who are disabled, who don't have cars, who live far from cities and government offices, who have any sort of physical barrier that makes it harder for them to obtain legal documents or get to the polls on election day. Disabled people are already much more likely to encounter a difficulty while voting compared to a nondisabled voter; more stringent requirements will just make this worse. Mail-in ballots have been a godsend for me at times in my life when I was not able to make it to the polls during voting hours. I was still able to participate in democracy even when limited by time, employment, or other factors. An in-person registration requirement makes things much more difficult for people in those situations, as well as for the thousands of men and women serving in our military abroad. While I understand the concern of voter fraud, this bill is not the way to address it. The SAVE America Act does far more to limit the voting rights of millions of Americans than it does to combat any voter fraud. Please, help us practice our American freedoms and do not pass this bill.