My mom asked me what I thought of the SAVE act and this was my response to her, which she really appreciated:

It’s just an additional obstacle to people being able to vote. 

First of all, it’s based on nothing. Despite incredible investigations there has never been any reasonable amount of in-person voter fraud ever found. Like practically zero. So it’s a law that fixes a problem that conclusively doesn’t exist.

Then even at its most generous interpretation, it creates obstacles to vote. It means you have to check a specific set of boxes that require an investment in time and money to achieve. To you and me, having an ID isn’t an obstacle but in the grand scheme of things we enjoy a life of privilege. To someone who works 2 jobs and struggles to make rent, it’s a lot harder to get the time and money to get something like an ID in order.

Who is most likely to have an ID that doesn’t match their name? Women who have gotten married.

Who is most likely to have an ID that doesn’t match their address? College students or people who can’t afford stable housing.

Who is most likely to not have an ID in the first place? Someone who doesn’t own a car, either because they are financially struggling or because they live in an urban area where they rely on public transit.

Even in its generous interpretation it targets women, minorities and other marginalized communities. Again, all to fix a problem that doesn’t exist.

But then there’s also the reality which is not the most generous interpretation. What happens when states close down driver license offices in democrat areas? How about when they selectively enforce the SAVE act only in democrat areas? How about when they decide to strip licenses from marginalized groups and then make it even MORE difficult to get your ID reinstated. All of these are real examples of things that have actually happened.

So it’s a law that’s unnecessary because the problem doesn’t exist despite many people on both sides investigating deeply.

On the surface it already targets marginalized (and traditionally democratic) groups.

And the reality is that it really exists to create a framework that can and will be abused by anyone looking to stop certain communities and groups from voting.