GOP States Are Taking Voter Suppression Into Their Own Hands

With Republicans unable to draw extra votes out of thin air and Senate Democrats refusing to greenlight anti-democratic legislation, Trump’s laughably misnamed SAVE America Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) is stuck in the same perpetual limbo it’s been in since March. But if at first, your voter suppression bill doesn’t succeed, try, try, try again… in Florida. And Mississippi. And Utah.

On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law his own version of the SAVE America Act, requiring voters to prove their citizenship to register to vote and purging from the voter rolls any voter who fails to comply. It will also remove student IDs, retirement center IDs, public assistance IDs, neighborhood association IDs, and debit and credit cards from the list of acceptable IDs, while adding U.S. passports. (According to the Center of American Progress, more than eight million Floridians don’t have a passport.) Luckily, the law won’t kick in until 2027, so all Floridians can still vote in the midterms. Treasure it, folks!

The ACLU immediately sued to block the law, joined by groups like the League of Women Voters of Florida, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Florida Rising, Common Cause, and the Hispanic Federation, all arguing the law is unconstitutional and violates the First and 14th Amendments.

“We are most concerned about impact as it relates to the most vulnerable Florida voters,” Jonathan Topaz, an ACLU attorney, told NBC News. “This could mean older Black voters who grew up in Jim Crow South who don’t have access to birth certificates, this could be naturalized citizens.”

Also on Wednesday, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed his state’s own SAVE America knockoff, the SHIELD (Safeguard Honest Integrity in Elections for Lasting Democracy) Act, which will go into effect July 1. So I guess he’ll be getting a high five from Trump—who previously said that passing the SAVE America Act would “guarantee the midterms.” So cool. 

“This is going to impact women, particularly women who are married and they have changed their name, or who are divorced or widowed,” State Rep. Zakiya Summers told WAPT. “This is going to impact elderly voters who may not have access to a birth certificate.” 

---

Like what you just read? You’ve got great taste. Subscribe to Jezebel, and for $5 a month or $50 a year, you’ll get access to a bunch of subscriber benefits, including getting to read the next article (and all the ones after that) ad-free. Plus, you’ll be supporting independent journalism—which, can you even imagine not supporting independent journalism in times like these? Yikes.