Dear LWVCNM Members,

I am your President, Starlyn Brown. This is my first Member Call to Action. There is another blatant attempt to suppress voters. This time the attack is coming from the America First Legal Foundation as a petition to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The Foundation is asking the Commission to amend EAC Regulations and the National Mail Voter Registration Form to require documentary proof of United States citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.

Right now, the EAC is taking public comments from people like you to gather input on whether they should adopt this anti-voter initiative. They need to hear from you about how damaging this policy would be before they make their decision. And it only takes a couple of minutes to make your voice heard.

Comments must be submitted by October 20 at midnight. Here’s how to submit a comment: 

1.      Go to the petition page on regulations.gov.

2.      Copy and paste the sample text below or create your own comment to include in the comment box.

3.      Submit the comment as an individual. You may also submit anonymously. 

SAMPLE TEXT

Feel free to write a personal note or use some or all of our sample text: 

 

I’m against requiring citizens to submit a passport, birth certificate, or other citizenship documents to register to vote! Only half of American citizens have a passport, and 69 million American citizens don’t have a birth certificate with their current legal name on it. 

 

It is already illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. Requiring a document to prove American citizenship to register to vote in federal elections is unnecessary. State election officials have systems to verify an individual voter’s eligibility and ensure voter rolls are accurate. There are many communities of eligible voters who would be unnecessarily burdened by the requirement of documentary proof of citizenship. Among them are military voters, families who have been impacted by natural disasters may have lost necessary documentation, and Americans who have changed their name, like married women. 

 

This is basically the S.A.V.E Act all over again. The request is to require applicants to provide one of the following as proof of citizenship: U.S. Passport, State-issued Real ID-compliant driver's license indicating that the applicant is a citizen, an official military identification card that indicates the applicant is a citizen of the United States, or a valid Federal or State government-issued photo identification if such identification indicates that the applicant is a United States citizen or if such identification is otherwise accompanied by proof of United States citizenship.

The continuous statements that a large number of noncitizens are voting are simply false. The facts do not back up these statements. It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote and the States, not the federal government, have the responsibility to verify citizenship.

Please submit a comment to the EAC by midnight on October 20th and share this information widely with your family, friends, and contacts nationwide to make them aware of this latest attack on voting and democracy.  

In League,

Starlyn