Election officials in Connecticut are concerned that the voting legislation being considered by the U.S. Senate would hurt the CT electorate.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act is a top priority for President Donald Trump (R). It would require citizens to present a passport or birth certificate to register to vote. Trump has said it’s needed to keep non-citizens from voting, which is already rare.
Connecticut Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas (D) said the bill would make it harder to register to vote in CT.
“Only about half of Americans have a valid, unexpired passport, and it's unclear how many have easy access to their birth certificate,” Thomas said.
Thomas also cited concerns about stress on municipal registrars and additional costs to the state.
“I'm very concerned that this bill basically has immediate enactment, so we have no runway, no transition time, no training time and no funding,” Thomas continued. “This feels like a disaster, based on everything I know about election administration.”
Thomas is one of many Democrats who don’t support the legislation. Though some, like U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), have said they’re in favor of voter identification, many in the party believe the bill goes too far and creates unnecessary hurdles to voting.
“I want people to vote, I want them to be encouraged to vote,” Governor Ned Lamont (D) said. “I want them to know their vote makes a difference, and I don’t want to put up all these bureaucratic roadblocks that make it tougher.”
Trump has said he won’t sign any other legislation until the SAVE Act passes.
The bill already cleared the U.S. House. However, it doesn’t have the 60 votes it needs in the Senate, so Senate Republicans are debating whether to invoke the nuclear option and eliminate the filibuster so they can pass the SAVE Act with 51 votes instead.
Congress is scheduled for a two-week recess beginning Monday, March 30. Funding to end the Department of Homeland Security shutdown — and SAVE Act — could keep the Senate in session during the scheduled time lawmakers were expected to return to their districts.
