Like any other dictatorship has done in history, the Trump administration is putting in laws that are ripping the freedom out of citizens’ hands daily, and covering it up with a web of lies and fake assurances.
One of these policies involves denying certain American citizens the fundamental right to vote, like immigrants, women, and trans voters. Statements rigged with the words, “We’re changing the laws to be more functional,” and “It’s for the best,” stretch across the media, underneath them the hard truth that Trump and his allies are continuously demoralizing America.
The SAVE Act is a proposed bill that would initiate all citizens to vote in person with legal documents to prove their citizenship, like birth certificates and passports. Anyone whose name doesn’t match their name on their legal document would be denied the right to vote.
This affects undocumented immigrants because the law would require citizens to provide ‘proof’ of citizenship through documents unavailable to many. More than 140 million American citizens do not possess a passport or citizenship documents. The SAVE Act heavily affects women and trans people’s right to vote in an election too. 69 million women in the United States have changed their last name since getting married. And 1.3 million trans voters would be unable to vote. Out of all U.S voters, women with legally changed last names make up 56.6%, and trans people make up around another 0.54%.
Combined, that’s the loss of a great number of voices. Voices distinguished because of an “Act” that the Trump administration claims is only responsible for helping reduce the number of illegal immigrants and boost national security. Making 70.3 million of 239 million eligible voters restricted from voting a “side effect”.
The House is set to vote on the SAVE Act soon, as of now its only been ‘Introduced’. As Congress.gov directly states, “This bill requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.” Depending on what is decided behind the scenes on what documents are acceptable, certain groups could be despairingly affected.
In actuality, the fact that the Trump administration even feels the need to pass this law as another factor to prevent undocumented immigrants from living and working inside the United States just adds to their box of piteousness.
Afterall, in nature, animals would never choose the dumbest of them to lead.
Whether the SAVE Act is passed or not, the turmoil that would hit the U.S. voting system is undeniable. One outcome would deny the right to vote for immigrants, women, LGBTQ+ community and more. But if not passed, there is still a chance for America to save its rights to elections.
The only thing America can keep fighting for is our voices. Voices that cannot be burned to ashes by a wretched government, probably scared of the power of its own citizens. Because the power of most human voices aren’t bits of scrap in a fire, but are phoenixes, who rise up out of the ashes, and grow stronger after each burn.