fix the virtually nonexistent “ problem ” of noncitizen voter fraud .
However , Rep . Summer Lee ( D-Pennsylvania ) slammed the bill as a “ xenophobic attack ” meant to silence “ Black voices , brown voices , LBGTQIA + voices , [ and ] young voices .”
Lee said the SAVE Act underscores the need to pass her recently introduced Right to Vote Act , “ which would establish the first-ever affirmative federal voting rights guarantee , ensuring every citizen may exercise their fundamental right to cast a ballot .”
Earlier this year , U . S . Senate Democrats also reintroduced the John R . Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act , legislation its sponsors say will “ update and restore critical safeguards of the original Voting Rights Act .”
Meanwhile , Republican-controlled state legislatures and red-state governors are enacting laws imposing tough restrictions on voter registration , with violations punishable by stiff fines that critics say are meant to dissuade people from registration drives and similar efforts .
Again under the guise of preventing fraud , Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last year signed legislation limiting voter registration drives , with fines of up to $ 250,000 for violators .
“ These draconian laws and rules are like taking a sledgehammer to hit a flea ,” Cecile Scoon , an attorney and president of the Florida chapter of the League of Women Voters , told the New York Times in an article published Friday .
Three years after Kansas passed a law making “ false representation ” of an election official a crime , campaigners
say it ’ s become extremely difficult to sign up new voters .
“ In 2020 , even with the pandemic , we had registered nearly 10,000 Kansans to vote . Now , we haven ’ t been able to register anyone ,” Davis Hammet , president of the youth voter mobilization group Loud Light , told the Times .
In Louisiana , Republican state lawmakers quietly passed legislation making it easier for election officials to toss out absentee ballots with missing details , limiting how people can mail in other voters ’ ballots , and restricting the ability to assist people with disabilities with their ballots .
“ What we ’ ve found is that these measures have a disproportionate impact on voters with disabilities , both Black and white ,” NAACP Legal Defense Fund senior policy counsel Jared Evans told Nola . com earlier this week .
“ It ’ s clear that their goal is to make it harder to vote , harder for specific communities to vote especially ,” Evans added . “ What they don ’ t realize is that these laws hurt white voters , too .”
In Nebraska , Republican Secretary of State Bob Evnen last week ordered county election offices to stop registering voters with past felony convictions who have not received official pardons . The move came after the state ’ s unicameral Legislature passed a bill granting voting eligibility to felons immediately after they have completed their sentences instead of waiting two years .
“ We refuse to accept thousands of Nebraskans having their voting rights stripped away ,” ACLU of Nebraska legal and policy fellow Jane Seu said in a statement . “ We are confident in the constitutionality of these laws , and we are exploring every option to ensure that Nebraskans who have done their time can vote .”
The Trial Lawyer x 77