In my family, voting is not only a right – it is a lifeline.
My parents were sharecroppers in Arkansas until 1951, when my father dared to hold his boss's head for not having paid him a fair salary at the agricultural weighing station. Under the threat of the KKK, he left the city in a wagon, covered with hay so that it was not discovered. Three months later – after months of threats of Klan violence at our home – the rest of our family went up in this same wagon on our way to join him in California.
It was only when we settled in Los Angeles that my parents were able to register to vote, ultimately free of fear of violent and fatal retribution that as simple act would trigger through the south of Jim Crow.
The lived experience of my family faced with discrimination and vigilantes in the South cannot be forgotten, especially since the Congress considers the Save Act. The Chamber recently approved the Save Act on the pretext that it will prevent illegal voting – a problem which is infinitely rare but supported by baseless stories.
If it is adopted by the Senate and has been promulgated, the real effect of the law would be to deprive millions of voters across the country and in California.
Americans should not be duned by rhetoric of fear and misleading. The Save Act has a real intention: to silence millions of eligible voters. This effort intentionally targets populations not served and badly served, whoever has changed his last name and those who serve in our armed forces, to name some groups that would be affected. This proposal is both undemocratic and unconstitutional.
He will not stop there. The bill will serve as a catalyst to unravel decades of disputed constitutional rights. You don't have to be born in the deep south to know that it is Jim Crow 2.0.
Some of our federal legislators try to steal our right to vote under the guise of false electoral complaints. Let me be clear: electoral fraud is practically nonexistent.
According to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative organization, only 12 cases of electoral fraud have been prosecuted in California since 2021 – an infinitesimal fraction of millions of cast ballots. National studies confirm The identity of voters is extremely rareWith most affirmations anchored in office errors rather than deception. Even if you thought that illegal voting was a problem that needs a solution, the safeguard law is like a passer -by in a mosquito with a hammer – unlikely to be effective against the target and likely to cause many collateral damage.
No matter what new state voters are registered, they must attest to their American citizenship when they register. And each state maintains the list of voters to identify potentially ineligible voters on the lists. States already guarantee that the vote is sure without depriving its vulnerable rights.
By adding unnecessary and heavy documentation requirements, the Save Act would prevent millions of Americans from participating in the elections. This is the point. Some legislators want millions of citizens to decide to vote are not worth it. Less people who vote, the more some candidates will benefit from it.
This legislation would affect you directly, someone you know or both. The most affected include:
- Newly married or divorced people and others sailing name changes.
- The families of the military were laid away from their homes.
- Students who study through the state.
- Disaster survivors – including tens of thousands of people displaced this year by California forest fires – without vital documents.
The Save Act, by design, imposes incredible loads on millions of people who are already eligible to vote. And if they decide to try to re -register for the vote, they will face a Herculean task. State offices across the country will be flooded by millions of people looking for their citizenship documentation.
Many elderly people may not be able to queue for hours. Disabled citizens can actually be prevented from acquiring documents.
If you have a current passport, you might be lucky – but around 140 million Americans do not. And your driving license in California or Realid will not work; Neither is considered to be proof of citizenship.
Even before the Save Act landed in the Senate, California fought against another push to eliminate constitutional rights. On March 25, President Trump published an executive decree which obliges citizens to provide documentary evidence of citizenship on the registration form of voters by federal mail. I joined California Atty. General Rob Bonta directs a trial, as well as Nevada, against the unconstitutional and illegal executive decree. Seventeen other state prosecutors joined our fight.
Throughout the history of our nation, the voting rights have been systematically reduced to silence the votes, the powerful do not want to hear. According to the ballot taxes abolished by the 24th amendment in 1964 to the obstacles dismantled by the 1965 voting rights, each step forward was a fight against deliberate priority.
No one can make a serious argument that the safeguard act really encourages people to vote, or even ensures that eligible people can exercise their right to participate in our democracy. He is supposed to prevent people from voting. It's an old story. Just ask my family to live in the south.
Some legislators seem conveniently reached the constitutional rights of minorities, members of our soldiers, our military and poor or rural citizens.
The Senate must stop this nonsense on its traces. You can help. Contact your American senators today and urge them to oppose the Save Act. Educate your friends, family and community on the real intentions of this bill. Participate in registration training for local voters and support organizations for the abolition of voters. Your voice counts. Use it to defend democracy.
Shirley N. Weber, Secretary of State of California, supervises all the federal and state elections of the State.
