Stand Up For The Right To Vote: Oppose The Save America Act

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UAW VALUES:

The UAW will always stand up for the right to vote in our country. The right to vote is the foundational right our democracy is built upon, and we refuse to let that be taken away from us by bad faith efforts to address non-existent issues. A free and fair democracy has been a core value of the UAW throughout its history. To have democracy in the workplace requires a truly democratic government, which is why the UAW has been at the forefront of every voting rights fight since 1935. This includes our ardent support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its subsequent reauthorizations and our endorsement of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

THE FACTS:

FACT: The SAVE America Act would disenfranchise millions of working-class Americans.

The SAVE America Act’s strenuous voter registration rules would require voters to show not just proof of identification, but proof of citizenship to register to vote.  Under the bill, many forms of ID, including most driver’s licenses and REAL IDs, would not meet the requirements for voter registration. Instead, most voters would need a passport, which over 146 million Americans DO NOT have, or they’d have to provide a government-issued ID paired with additional documentation, like a birth certificate. Among Americans earning less than $50,000 a year, only 20% have a valid passport. The SAVE America Act will make it nearly impossible for millions of working-class Americans to vote, which is clearly a central goal of the legislation.

FACT: The SAVE America Act would disenfranchise millions of women.

According to the Pew Research Center, 84% of women in heterosexual marriages opt to change their last name, meaning that their birth certificates do not match the name on their ID. For most people without a passport, the primary way to prove citizenship is with a birth certificate (which millions of Americans don’t have access to), making it incredibly difficult for women who have changed their last name to register to vote.

FACT: Required In-person registration would limit working people’s ability to vote.

The SAVE America Act would require all voter registration, including new voters and current voters who are re-registering or updating their registration, to do so in person. This means that any time someone moves, decides to change their party registration, or changes their name, they would be required to go in-person to an election office. During the 2022 election cycle, 80.1 million Americans either registered to vote for the first time or updated their registration. Among those 80.1 million, only 4.7 million (5.9%) chose to register in person. Working people, parents, and many others simply do not have enough time or resources to be constantly going in-person to maintain their voter registration, making this requirement equivalent to restricting their right to vote.

FACT: There is no evidence supporting claims of widespread voter fraud.

The truth is that this bill only promotes lies about U.S. elections, stokes dangerous rhetoric, and disenfranchises the very voters its authors claim to protect. Noncitizens are already barred from voting in federal elections, and study after study finds that instances of noncitizen voting are extremely rare. Even the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation failed to uncover evidence that this a serious problem: in the last 26 years, they’ve only found 100 instances out of 1.5 billion votes cast -- a grand total of 0.000000067%. That is effectively zero. The bill is an attempt to stir up anger about a non-existent problem to justify taking away our most important democratic right.

TAKE ACTION: STAND UP FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE

UAW members say: DON’T LET CONGRESS TAKE AWAY OUR DEMOCRACY.

TAKE ACTION NOW: CALL YOUR SENATORS

Contact your representative today to tell them: the SAVE America Act would disenfranchise millions of working-class Americans and UAW members across the country oppose it. We oppose any legislation that makes it more difficult for workers and our families to exercise our fundamental freedom to vote. Demand that your Senator opposes the SAVE America Act.

SHARE YOUR STORY: HOW WOULD THIS BILL MAKE IT HARDER FOR YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES TO VOTE?