Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander voted against the so-called SAVE Act, partisan legislation that would jeopardize the right of thousands of American citizens to vote.
An estimated 335,050 New Hampshire women have a name that does not match their birth certificate, usually because they changed their name upon marriage. These women would not be able to use their birth certificates to prove their citizenship under the SAVE Act. And, if they do not have a passport, which roughly 44.5 percent of Granite Staters do not, they would not be able to register to vote at all under the SAVE Act. At a cost of $130 per passport, the SAVE Act could force Granite Staters to pay over $78 million just to register to vote. The SAVE Act does not provide alternative guidance on how women who have changed their name can prove their citizenship to register to vote.
“The right to vote is the fundamental right from which all of our rights flow. I listened closely to the grave concerns that non-partisan election officials across New Hampshire raised with me about the partisan legislation considered in Congress today, and that is why I voted against it,” said Congresswoman Goodlander. “If enacted, this legislation would disenfranchise eligible voters throughout our state and our nation. It would put our election workers at risk in senseless ways. This bill is bad for New Hampshire and I will not stop fighting to protect the right to vote. Our democracy depends on it.”
The New Hampshire City and Town Clerks’ Association opposes the SAVE Act for its disenfranchisement of voters across the country.
“New Hampshire recently enacted a bill that is very similar to the SAVE Act, and it has already disenfranchised voters in New Hampshire from voting in their Town elections. We estimate between 10 and 50% of voters will be turned away from voting on election day,” said Joan Dargie, President of the New Hampshire City and Town Clerks Association in a letter referring to new registrants. “Some voters do not have their birth certificates readily available and then if they don’t have it they will have to purchase one. For many individuals, the cost alone could disenfranchise them from voting. Those that are married and have changed their names will have to provide marriage certificates. Those that have been married multiple times will have to show all marriage certificates to show all name changes. This as well will disenfranchise many voters. Other parts of this bill that are concerning is the private right of action allowing individuals to sue if they feel the law is not properly enforced. Our elections are run by elected officials and very dedicated volunteers and this would be concerning to many that this can happen.”
Congresswoman Goodlander has dedicated her life to serving New Hampshire and our country. Before taking the oath of office, she served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, a professor of constitutional law at the University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth, a lawyer in the fight for voting rights with the New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights, and a law clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer on the United States Supreme Court.
**In New Hampshire, nearly 100 eligible voters were turned away in recent town elections as a result of the Granite State’s new voter ID law, a preview of what could come from this bill**
