The nonpartisan Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has been asked to amend the federal voter registration form to require Americans to provide unnecessary documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote. This is a blatant attempt to suppress the vote and creates a modern day poll tax. Requiring documentation of citizenship to vote will take us back to the days of Jim Crow voter suppression. We must speak out to protect the right to vote.
21 million eligible voters, about 1 in 10 adult citizens, do not readily have access to any proof of citizenship. Half of all Americans—146 million people—do not have a passport at all. 69 million American citizens don’t have a birth certificate with their current legal name on it.
Communities of color, poor people, tribal communities, LGBTQIA+ people, survivors of natural disasters, and the tens of millions of married women in America who have changed their legal names would be disproportionately impacted by unnecessary proof of citizenship requirements. This attack on our multi-racial democracy represents the last-ditch efforts of white supremacy to entrench itself in power by limiting who has power. It's imperative we speak out to protect the right to vote for all Americans.
The deadline to submit comments is October 20 at 11:59 PM Eastern.
In Solidarity, Hani Mirza
Director & Senior Attorney, Power & Democracy
