To the editor:

Republican politicians backing the Trump administration are once again trying to suppress voter and states’ rights. If it wasn’t bad enough that the right-wing lied about the need for ICE and bypassed governors’ rule in their own states, now the GOP is trying to use its power to eliminate states’ rights to oversee voting guidelines and procedures.

Every state uniformly requires a valid ID for identity purposes before allowing a person to register to vote (contrary to Trump saying Democrat states don’t and the right-wing lying about non-citizens flooding the voting polls).

States, however, choose their own procedures. Oregon, for example, established “all-mail-in-voting” in 1998. Washington, Utah, Colorado, Hawaii, California, Nevada, Vermont and DC followed suit. The convenience of mail-in ballots proved successful in creating greater voter participation. (But considering that “all-mail-in-voting” states are primarily Democrat, is that why the Republican Party is trying to do away with that method completely?)

Now, the GOP has another trick up its sleeve which will endanger free and fair elections. The House Republican majority passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. This bill removes the right of each state to establish its own voting requirements and imposes federal mandates instead. Under the new regulations, a driver’s license ID might not be enough. Voters would be required to show a current passport or an original birth certificate as well.

Lucky you — if you have a passport to prove that you’re an American citizen. Because 49% to 55% of Americans don’t have an up-to-date passport or any passport at all. Lucky you — if you have your original birth certificate (not a copy) with a raised seal and your present name. Because 70 million married women may not have a reissued birth certificate with their new last name. (Would that sly maneuver be in any way related to Pew Research statistics that more women vote Democrat than men?)

While the Republican Party spreads fear about supposed massive voter fraud, they’re the party trying to undermine and create chaos in our voting systems.

It’s bad enough that the SAVE Act will result in legal citizens being mistakenly taken off the rolls. But it also requires states to hand over their voting rolls to be controlled by the federal government. This is in conjunction with the Sept. 25, 2025 National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7) which allows the Department of Homeland Security to target individuals they interpret as being “anti-American”, “anti-capitalist” or “anti-Christian” (as in, anyone criticizing Trump). Who doesn’t see that as questionable over-reach and a threat to our civil rights?

We can only hope that the Senate will block the House Republican’s ill-conceived SAVE Act. Democrat Senators will vote against it. But being in the minority, Republican Senators with integrity must be the ones to help vote it down (even as Trump claims he’ll push it through without Congressional approval). If it goes through, surprised Americans may suddenly discover their privacy rights have been compromised and they’re no longer eligible to vote.

Martha Hodges

Massena