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BumRushDaShow

(149,993 posts)
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 04:20 PM Monday

Republicans Want Voters To Provide Proof Of Citizenship To Vote. Millions Could Be Impacted.

Source: Huff Post

Mar 31, 2025, 05:45 AM EDT


When she was working as an election official in Arizona years ago, Tammy Patrick encountered voters who supported what was then the state’s new “proof of citizenship” law for voter registration — only to realize that they had been disenfranchised by it. “They’d say, ‘I voted for that!’” she recalled of the voters, many of whom were “snowbirds, older people, who didn’t have the wherewithal to get [the correct documents] because the documents didn’t exist anymore.” “It was heart-wrenching,” Patrick said.

At the time, Arizona was the only state in the nation with a documentary proof of citizenship requirement for voters, and thousands of people have since lost out on the right to vote in state elections. Kansas, which later also tried its own citizenship requirement for voter registration, saw similar results.

“Kansas did that 10 years ago,” Kansas’s Republican Secretary of State Scott Schwab told The Associated Press in December of his state’s own requirement, which prevented tens of thousands of voter registrations and was ultimately blocked in court in 2018. “It didn’t work out so well.”

Nonetheless, despite data showing tens of millions of Americans don’t have ready access to proof of citizenship documents, Republicans are now pushing hard to require those records nationwide for voter registration. They haven’t been able to make it happen yet. But two efforts, one each from the White House and congressional Republicans, have made the prospect of a national proof of citizenship requirement a real possibility.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/proof-of-citizenship-requirement-voter-registration-save-act_n_67e81a64e4b0f0380605eb7f

42 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Republicans Want Voters To Provide Proof Of Citizenship To Vote. Millions Could Be Impacted. (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Monday OP
It's like they spend all day thinking of the absolute worst answer to every question! Initech Monday #1
I've voted in every major election since 1972. I voted in person for decades and then went to mail-in but Bengus81 Monday #2
Exactly Rebl2 Monday #6
"Heart-wrenching" probably not the word I would choose in the AZ scenario AZJonnie Monday #3
This. This is literally ALL there is to it. It's the simple, cold hard truth of the matter. The harder it is for people Karasu Tuesday #33
They're looking for legal ways COL Mustard Tuesday #37
This started with Karl Rove in the W era. You have to show a drivers license to vote in Texas. surfered Monday #4
And a driver's license isn't enough unless it's a REAL ID. nt pnwmom Monday #9
And if you don't have one, Igel Monday #17
Before Rove! Grins Monday #22
Wow! surfered Monday #23
This has been the sole reason why Republicans have been pushing so much voter suppression for so fucking long. Karasu Tuesday #34
Yeah, I have a state-issued birth certificate that says I was born here. OldBaldy1701E Monday #5
You'll need a birth certificate or a REAL ID, unless you've changed your name. pnwmom Monday #8
I have one and I am going to get the other in a month or so. OldBaldy1701E Monday #16
WOMEN. The purpose is to reduce the number of women voters, who tend to vote Democratic. pnwmom Monday #7
Any woman who is currently divorced should return to her maiden name FakeNoose Monday #15
Some divorced women with children don't want to change their names again. nt pnwmom Monday #18
Yes, I agree that it's a problem where small children are concerned FakeNoose Monday #19
I really wish women would stop giving up their names Skittles Monday #20
I agree with you now, but times were different in 1970 when I married FakeNoose Monday #21
I think people have the right to choose the name they want to use. ShazzieB Tuesday #30
just curious but Skittles Tuesday #32
I changed my name, because it was what I wanted to do. ShazzieB Tuesday #35
I kept my maiden name when I married. I was 34, established in a career, and not starry-eyed. SharonAnn Tuesday #38
outstanding Skittles Tuesday #39
Limit voting to only those with US Passports liberalgunwilltravel Monday #10
Don't be so sure. Women are less likely to have traveled out of the country than men, pnwmom Monday #11
Agreed. love_katz Monday #12
So -- how many poor people do you know with passports? Or even middle class? Hekate Monday #13
Let me see your Papers slightlv Monday #14
What does the GOP regard as proof of citizenship? ShazzieB Monday #24
We can get certified copies of docs to show why name change from birth name, but they cost $. Poll tax! Attilatheblond Monday #27
EACH Person MUST BE issued ... BurnDoubt Monday #25
Women who took husband's surname will have to pay to get certified copies of marriage certificate? Attilatheblond Monday #26
YEP! BurnDoubt Monday #28
They're trying to do this in Wisconsin. boonecreek Monday #29
Two comments: DENVERPOPS Tuesday #31
"I guess Obama's ability to vote will be voided," BumRushDaShow Tuesday #36
Good one BRDS DENVERPOPS Tuesday #41
Repukes are trying to shift the burden of proof onto the voters meow2u3 Tuesday #40
It's another reason why mailed ballots are so effective, and every state should have them FakeNoose Tuesday #42

Bengus81

(8,532 posts)
2. I've voted in every major election since 1972. I voted in person for decades and then went to mail-in but
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 04:43 PM
Monday

was never ONCE told by a election worker that ummm....sorry, our records show you've already voted.

Rebl2

(16,010 posts)
6. Exactly
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 04:53 PM
Monday

I have never had that experience either. I do remember one time a husband and wife voting in my state and then going to I think it was Arkansas and voting there as well in the same federal election. Oh and they were republicans.

AZJonnie

(613 posts)
3. "Heart-wrenching" probably not the word I would choose in the AZ scenario
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 04:48 PM
Monday

GOP knows they more of a PITA they make it for people to legally vote (and the more it costs them) the better their chances are of winning elections. That simple.

Karasu

(865 posts)
33. This. This is literally ALL there is to it. It's the simple, cold hard truth of the matter. The harder it is for people
Tue Apr 1, 2025, 12:46 AM
Tuesday

to vote, the better they do. The more accessible it is, the better we do. It's the sole reason they went so hard against mail-in voting, and informs every single bit of voter suppression they've been pushing for the last decade.

surfered

(5,880 posts)
4. This started with Karl Rove in the W era. You have to show a drivers license to vote in Texas.
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 04:50 PM
Monday

To obtain a driver’s license, you must produce a birth certificate or passport.

Texas doesn’t want the riff raff (read Democrats) voting.

Grins

(8,174 posts)
22. Before Rove!
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 10:14 PM
Monday

Back to 1980 when Paul Weyrich told “Christian” conservatives:

“I don't want everybody to vote... As a matter of fact, our leverage in the election quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.”

The Reich-wing’s North Star is preventing LEGITIMATE voters from voting. The Republican fear over the election in Wisconsin is based ON THAT!

Karasu

(865 posts)
34. This has been the sole reason why Republicans have been pushing so much voter suppression for so fucking long.
Tue Apr 1, 2025, 12:49 AM
Tuesday

The easier it is to vote, the more they tend to lose. They know this very well.

OldBaldy1701E

(7,545 posts)
5. Yeah, I have a state-issued birth certificate that says I was born here.
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 04:52 PM
Monday

I have documentation that says one side of my family has been here since 1650.

They want to see it? They are the government, they have the documentation themselves. They can go get it.

They are the ones with doubts, not me. I know I am an American citizen.

pnwmom

(109,801 posts)
8. You'll need a birth certificate or a REAL ID, unless you've changed your name.
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 05:02 PM
Monday

In that case you'd need a marriage certificate, too, or a name change document from a court.

pnwmom

(109,801 posts)
7. WOMEN. The purpose is to reduce the number of women voters, who tend to vote Democratic.
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 05:01 PM
Monday

They know there is virtually no problem with undocumented people voting.

They also know that most married/divorced/widowed women no longer use the name on their birth certificate, and many of them do not have a passport or a REAL ID. And the process of getting them (if you have changed your name) is time-consuming and costly.

I just got mine, after starting the process a year ago and giving up because of a complication. It was a pain in the neck.

FakeNoose

(37,058 posts)
15. Any woman who is currently divorced should return to her maiden name
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 06:38 PM
Monday

... and make sure all IDs are in the maiden name. There's no problem for a woman showing a birth certificate when the passport and Real IDs are in her maiden name.

I actually did this 40 years ago when I was divorced. Resumed my maiden name 35 years ago, and my old "married" name doesn't exist anymore.

Skittles

(163,072 posts)
20. I really wish women would stop giving up their names
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 09:34 PM
Monday

nothing says inequality like giving up your identity

FakeNoose

(37,058 posts)
21. I agree with you now, but times were different in 1970 when I married
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 09:48 PM
Monday

If I ever get married again (not likely) I'll surely keep my same old name.
I've got 6 sisters, and 4 of them kept their maiden names.

ShazzieB

(20,046 posts)
30. I think people have the right to choose the name they want to use.
Tue Apr 1, 2025, 12:15 AM
Tuesday

Some people change their names when getting married, and some don't, for a variety of reasons. Some probably always will, unless it's outlawed, which imo would be would be a gross infringement on people's personal choices. By the same token, I think people should be free to decide what name to use after a divorce. These are very personal decisions.

In my case, I chose to adopt the same surname as my husband, because I liked the idea of sharing a name with the person I had chosen to spend my life with. I loved my parents, but my identity was mine, not theirs, and it wasn't tied up with their last name. I was a fully autonomous, independent, self-sufficient person before I got married and have continued to be one for almost 51 years since then.

Did Michelle Robinson give up her identity when she married Barack Obama? Did Jill Tracy surrender part of her autonomy when she said "I do" to Joe Biden? How about Hillary Rodham, who initially kept her birth name but changed it later on, because people in Arkansas were being buttheads about their governor and his wife using different last names? Did she stop being an equal partner to Bill when she began using the name Clinton? In all three cases, my answer is a resounding "No."

A name is just a label. I think people should be allowed to label themselves how they want. That applies to men as well as women. I think Chasten Buttigieg and Brad Takei would agree.

Skittles

(163,072 posts)
32. just curious but
Tue Apr 1, 2025, 12:23 AM
Tuesday

why didn't your husband take YOUR name - that's "sharing" too, right? Why do women OVERWHELMINGLY take the husband's name? Yeah, you don't need to respond, I already know.

ShazzieB

(20,046 posts)
35. I changed my name, because it was what I wanted to do.
Tue Apr 1, 2025, 02:15 AM
Tuesday

It was really that simple. For highly personal reasons I won't go into, I liked the idea of leaving my old name behind. It felt like a fresh start. Since I didn't have any desire to keep that name myself, asking him to take it never even entered my mind. There's no reason it would have.

I think it would have been cool for both of us to take a completely new name together, IF that was something we had both really wanted to do, but that wasn't the case. The choice boiled down to me taking his name or not taking it. He would have respected my wishes either way, but changing my name was what suited me at the time.

I'll admit that it was also simpler, because it was the expected thing. Any other choice would have involved answering a lot of questions and explaining ourselves over and over. I would have willingly done that if I'd wanted to keep my birth name, but I didn't. Avoiding that hassle is NOT why I changed my name, but it was a nice bonus.

SharonAnn

(14,003 posts)
38. I kept my maiden name when I married. I was 34, established in a career, and not starry-eyed.
Tue Apr 1, 2025, 06:33 AM
Tuesday

That was in 1979 when it was still unusual. And, interestingly, when I was working up my courage to tell my fiancé my decision, he told me that if I wanted to keep my name it was fine with him.

The only pushback I had was when my boss told me I needed to contact HR about changing my name but I explained I wasn’t changing it. He was a little surprised but then said “OK, then”.

I had watched women go through all the hassle of name changes when marrying or divorcing and wanted to avoid all that. And I’m so glad I did.

Skittles

(163,072 posts)
39. outstanding
Tue Apr 1, 2025, 06:43 AM
Tuesday

it is irritating how women are expected to change their names, and how many still do it

pnwmom

(109,801 posts)
11. Don't be so sure. Women are less likely to have traveled out of the country than men,
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 05:31 PM
Monday

so they probably have lower numbers of passports, too.

"Women (32%) are more likely than men (22%) to have never traveled outside the country. "

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/08/12/most-americans-have-traveled-abroad-although-differences-among-demographic-groups-are-large/

love_katz

(2,968 posts)
12. Agreed.
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 05:49 PM
Monday

The only time I traveled out of the country was to Canada, and that was when I was married.
After my divorce, I couldn't even afford vacations because the only jobs I could get didn't pay a living wage.
I have never had a passport. It wasn't needed for travel to Canada back in the 1980's.

slightlv

(5,245 posts)
14. Let me see your Papers
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 06:32 PM
Monday

I predicted this back when they first raised the REAL ID bill. Now, when they'd really like to see women and older voters disenfranchised, they're doing it.

I've tried and tried to get a REAL ID. It's not just birth certificates that are hard to get. Trace your marriages from marriage license to divorce however many times you did it. I know you young ones out there have listened and heeded retaining your own birth name, but for most of us older women it was even an afterthought... it we were even asked and it not added by the County Clerk automatically.

And then there are the wedding certificates that have white out on them (like mine). Even tho it's certified, it's no good as proof, so I have to come up with $16 to get 2 certified copies. It's taken me this long to calm down since I last tried at the first of this month. And now, THIS!

I've printed out the form, going to get a cashier's check for the $16 before we run out of money completely this month, and mail it certified mail to the County Clerks office... so they can't say they never received it again. Lord knows, at this time Texas is a long ways from KS for me.

The next step will be to only have elections like Hungary and Russia... and that's if they even allow those. All you white Christian males better get your ducks in order. Once they've stripped POC and women of all their rights, they'll be coming after you. No one lives a perfect life.

ShazzieB

(20,046 posts)
24. What does the GOP regard as proof of citizenship?
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 10:55 PM
Monday

I have a birth certificate that shows I was born in the U.S., but I had a different last name then. What's to stop anyone from refusing to believe it's me?

This applies to anyone who's ever changed their name on marrying, and it gets even more complicated when someone's been married more than once. And that's just one possible category of native born U.S. citizens who have used at least one name in adulthood that doesn’t match our birth records.I wonder how the GOP is planning to address this.

I'd also like to know at what point the GOP wants voters to be required to prove citizenship. Not at the polls, I hope. That would create nightmare delays for everybody involved, voters and poll workers alike.

Attilatheblond

(5,563 posts)
27. We can get certified copies of docs to show why name change from birth name, but they cost $. Poll tax!
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 11:17 PM
Monday

edited to add this link: https://www.usa.gov/request-documents]

BurnDoubt

(210 posts)
25. EACH Person MUST BE issued ...
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 11:12 PM
Monday

An OFFICIAL ID certified by the Federal Government if this is to be made a requirement for ANYTHING. I personally believe each adult citizen should be required to vote in order to be a citizen in the USA. NO barriers to voting should EVER be allowed. This issue has been abused throughout our history, from poll-taxes to out-lawing providing water to voters forced to stand for long periods in line to vote. Election interference should be severely punished. Suffrage is our MOST Sacred Right and MUST NOT be infringed. Failing this, the Democratic Party needs to make sure their voters are prepared to vote by consulting every voter ahead of an election to verify their eligibility and provide the necessary curative where needed. This must be a first-line strategy, and fully-funded. Then, poll-watching should be done to verify ballots have been turned in. Find a way.

Attilatheblond

(5,563 posts)
26. Women who took husband's surname will have to pay to get certified copies of marriage certificate?
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 11:16 PM
Monday
https://www.usa.gov/request-documents]

It's voter suppression and a poll tax

boonecreek

(821 posts)
29. They're trying to do this in Wisconsin.
Mon Mar 31, 2025, 11:23 PM
Monday

There's a "Question 1" one their ballot which would enshrine voter ID in
their constitution if it passes. The "vote yes on question 1" ads are relentless.
And of course they're pulling the safeguard our elections ploy.

DENVERPOPS

(11,591 posts)
31. Two comments:
Tue Apr 1, 2025, 12:22 AM
Tuesday

As one of Hitler's henchman proclaimed: It doesn't matter how people vote, it only matters who COUNTS the votes.....We have seen that fact in several elections in the past 25+ years, haven't we........Including who MAKES the voting machines.....EIS?

I guess Obama's ability to vote will be voided, This Asshole In The White House, and his CABAL ALL deny his birth certificate is real....

BumRushDaShow

(149,993 posts)
36. "I guess Obama's ability to vote will be voided,"
Tue Apr 1, 2025, 04:32 AM
Tuesday

Carnival Cruz wasn't born in the U.S., so his vote should be voided and his status should be revoked in order to deport him back to Canada (where he would be "stateless" having denounced his Canadian citizenship).

DENVERPOPS

(11,591 posts)
41. Good one BRDS
Tue Apr 1, 2025, 12:42 PM
Tuesday

My ancestors on my grandmother's side would have liked most of the people in the U.S. Deported because they were/are all basically illegal aliens, who truly were "criminals".........Too bad her/my ancestors didn't have a "Border Patrol" and "ICE"..........

Gotta be honest with you BRDS, not sure we're gonna make it through this pure insanity........


REALLY GOOD LIST by Thom Hartman on Trump/Putin's accelerating obliteration/destruction of America, in case you missed it.....

meow2u3

(25,117 posts)
40. Repukes are trying to shift the burden of proof onto the voters
Tue Apr 1, 2025, 08:34 AM
Tuesday

This is what proof of citizenship laws do: introduce the idea that you're guilty until proven innocent (of not being a citizen). It's only a matter of time before those tyrants pass laws that criminalize people only because of who they are, denying disfavored people due process. That's what the rethugs are really up to.

FakeNoose

(37,058 posts)
42. It's another reason why mailed ballots are so effective, and every state should have them
Tue Apr 1, 2025, 02:27 PM
Tuesday

When voters are challenged for identification in public polls, it's already Election Day and too late to do anything about it. People who came to vote can be cowed into accepting lame excuses from those who would challenge their right-to-vote.

I live in Pittsburgh where this would almost never happen (we're solid blue here) but I imagine it's quite a different story in some of the Southern states. In the red states, women and minorities are more likely to be treated as 2nd class citizens, and be denied their right to vote, or bullied into thinking so.

What's awesome about the mailed ballot voting is, when the mailed ballots are requested in advance, at the same time voters must present proof of registration. If you've already voted in the same precinct (same name and address) usually it's only a signature that needs to accompany the ballot request. This signature is kept on file for comparison to the actual mailed ballot later on. With mailed ballots, there's no in-person bullying going on, and voters cannot be traumatized into thinking they have no voting rights.

Another benefit (in my opinion) is that I can research the candidates and ballot questions before I vote my mailed ballot, whereas I was often winging it when I would go to polls and vote in person.

If you're already a registered voter in your current address (with no name change) you are better off voting by mail - EARLY - especially if you are...
1. Female
2. Non-white
3. Senior citizen
4. Handicapped
5. Speaking English as a 2nd language
6. Have work obligations that entail travel or working off-hours. This includes military service, school/university enrollees, etc.

Ignore Chump and the MAGAs, take advantage of your right to vote by mail.




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