#SAVE act

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

On August 20, a little before dawn, 87 year-old Lidia Martinez was abruptly jarred awake by an unexpected knock on her door. The longtime activist who for over 35 years has worked to expand voter registration among seniors and veterans in south Texas, cautiously peered out the door. Standing on her doorstep were nine police officers dressed in tactical gear and carrying firearms. After showing her a search warrant, Martinez’s home was searched as she was forced to stand outside in her nightgown in her driveway in full view of her neighbors. Martinez was later questioned for three hours after which the police seized her phone, computer, personal calendar and more.

[...]

These bad faith searches orchestrated by Paxton were predicated on the claim that the people being investigated were registering non-citizens to vote—despite zero evidence presented of wrongdoing. Very alarmingly, if Donald Trump and House GOP have their way, these types of raids would be happening nationwide with federal law enforcement under a GOP President.  That is why GOP House Speaker Johnson is now demanding the proposed SAVE Act be included in any deal to provide funding to keep the government open.

To be clear, federal and state law already makes it a crime for non-citizens to vote. But this new federal legislation would establish criminal penalties for registering an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentation proving U.S. citizenship.  That means that what we are seeing in Texas is coming attractions of what the GOP wants to do nationally.

Keep in mind despite Texas AG Paxton’s two year investigation, no charges  have been filed against any of the people whose homes were searched.  Indeed, there may never be charges because even Paxton’s basis for the search is BS. In his press release announcing the investigation, the Texas AG presents no evidence of wrongdoing. Instead, Paxton makes baseless claims like these organizations have set up voter registration booths outside state agencies where people could register inside. Paxton’s press release literally includes this question with no answer: “Why would they need a second opportunity to register with a booth outside?” But nowhere in his press release does he even allege any criminal conduct—only questions.

And Paxton—a close ally of convicted felon Trump—showed his bad faith earlier in August on a radio show when he peddled lies about non-citizens voting. Paxton declared, “There’s a reason Joe Biden brought people here illegally. I’m convinced that that’s how they’re going to do it this time, they’re going to use the illegal vote. Why were they brought in, why did he bring in 14 million people?” adding, “He brought them here to vote.”   That is nothing more than the type of BS you hear on Fox News. But now Paxton has weaponized government by targeting people registering those he believes will vote for Democrats. The backlash to Paxton’s actions have been swift. LULAC requested that the Department of  Justice investigate Paxton's office for Voting Rights Act violations. LULAC CEO Juan Proaño and the group's national president, Roman Palomares, summed up well what is really going in their letter to the DOJ: "These actions echo a troubling history of voter suppression and intimidation that has long targeted both Black and Latino communities, particularly in states like Texas, where demographic changes have increasingly shifted the political landscape.”

The Texas GOPs voter intimidation tactics are based on the faux outrage campaign against noncitizen voting.

[dosesofcommonsense]

[captainxtra]

The SAVE Act is something to be aware of!

Word is that there GOP is focused on it for next week!

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Mike Johnson Withdraws Government Funding Bill, Which Includes SAVE Act Just Hours Before Scheduled Vote

But the reality is that Johnson and his ilk have no intention of “getting there.”

Instead, they are content with playing politics and continuing the endless cycle of appeasement that has defined the GOP establishment for far too long.

Despite the clear urgency from Trump and his supporters, Johnson pulled his six-month stopgap funding plan after it became clear that opposition from both Democrats and a handful of spineless Republicans would derail the bill. At least eight House Republicans have already come out against the bill, all but ensuring its failure, according to CNN.

“No vote today,” Johnson told reporters, signaling yet another defeat for conservatives hoping for real change in Washington.

“We are having thoughtful conversations, family conversations within the Republican Conference and I believe we will get there,” he added.

“I want any member of Congress in either party to explain to the American people why we should not ensure that only US citizens are voting in US elections … It’s the most pressing issue right now, and we’re going to get this job done.”

But the reality is that Johnson and his ilk have no intention of “getting there.”

Instead, they are content with playing politics and continuing the endless cycle of appeasement that has defined the GOP establishment for far too long.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), one of the few voices still willing to speak truth to power, blasted Johnson and GOP leadership on Tuesday for orchestrating what she called a “fake fight” in Washington.

Greene rightly pointed out that the RINOs had no real intention of seeing this bill through and were more interested in appeasing their left-wing colleagues than standing up for the American people.

"The worst thing that Republicans in the House can do is create a fake fight that the base knows they’re lying about and frustrate our voters going in on November fifth,” Greene said. “That’s how you lose the House of Representatives,” Greene said.

“Just be honest. If [Johnson] already aligned himself with the Democrats back in May, did a two-part omnibus, just be honest and do what he’s going to do. But don’t have Conservatives like me that actually care about reducing our spending, that actually care about making changes, that actually care about doing the right thing for the American people, don’t make people like me go out and pretend like we’re fighting for something, because I’m not going to have any part of it.”

[ferretshark]

[yetisidelblog]

House Republicans are planning to move quickly when the new Congress is sworn in, with their latest attack on the right to vote. The SAVE Act would create barriers to voter registration by requiring states to obtain documentary proof of citizenship to register an individual to vote in federal elections. Not only would this bill effectively gut online and mail voter registration, it would also require reapplying whenever a voter moves, attempts to change party affiliation, or needs to update their name!

While Trump and his Republican enablers continue to tout the myth that there is a flood of noncitizens voting, requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote will instead dissuade many eligible citizens from voting and add additional burdens to the process of registering.

Tell the House of Representatives: reject the SAVE Act!

@upontheshelfreviews

@greenwingspino

@one-time-i-dreamt

@tenaflyviper

@akron-squirrel

@ifihadaworldofmyown

@justice-for-jacob-marley

@voicetalentbrendan

@thebigdeepcheatsy

@what-is-my-aesthetic

@ravenlynclemens

@bogleech

[master-jarrus]

So republicans tried to pass the Save Act which would've stopped a lot of married women from being able to vote because their last name doesn't match their birth certificate (that is a slight over simplication)

I can see them attempting to pass this again

But I have a feeling we will see some great passive resistance of women not taking their husband's last name as a result

This of course will make them panic and require spouses to have the same last names but they are going to word it exactly like that and basically make incest legal

.

Trumpers are dumb, trying to suppress passive resistance will probably keep them from achieving anything in the next four years

Be the little loophole finding gremlins you are and watch them loose their shit

[aqlstar]

Yes the SAVE act is a hot mess, no it would not ban married women from voting.

One of the acceptable forms of ID it lists is real-ID documentation (which is weird, because you don’t have to be a citizen to get a real ID, but whatever).

You do not need to show your birth certificate to get real ID if you have two other forms of identification. If you want to use your birth certificate as a form of ID, and there’s been a name change- you just need legal proof of name change.

Is it a pain in the ass? Yes. But it’s totally possible.

I would predict that republicans would be screwing themselves over by passing the SAVE act because their voting base (which trends older and less cosmopolitan) seems less likely to have a valid passport.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Christina A. Cassidy at HuffPost:

ATLANTA (AP) — Republicans plan to move quickly in their effort to overhaul the nation’s voting procedures, seeing an opportunity with control of the White House and both chambers of Congress to push through long-sought changes that include voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements. They say the measures are needed to restore public confidence in elections, an erosion of trust that Democrats note has been fueled by false claims from President-elect Donald Trump and his allies of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. In the new year, Republicans will be under pressure to address Trump’s desires to change how elections are run in the U.S., something he continues to promote despite his win in November.

The main legislation that Republicans expect to push will be versions of the American Confidence in Elections Act and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, said GOP Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, chair of the Committee on House Administration, which handles election-related legislation. The proposals are known as the ACE and SAVE acts, respectively. “As we look to the new year with unified Republican government, we have a real opportunity to move these pieces of legislation not only out of committee, but across the House floor and into law,” Steil said in an interview. “We need to improve Americans’ confidence in elections.” Republicans are likely to face opposition from Democrats and have little wiggle room with their narrow majorities in both the House and Senate. Steil said he expects there will be “some reforms and tweaks” to the original proposals and hopes Democrats will work with Republicans to refine and ultimately support them.

Democrats want to make it easier, not harder, to vote

New York Rep. Joe Morelle, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said there was an opportunity for bipartisan agreement on some issues but said the two previous GOP bills go too far. “Our view and the Republicans’ view is very different on this point,” Morelle said. “They have spent most of the time in the last two years and beyond really restricting the rights of people to get to ballots – and that’s at the state level and the federal level. And the SAVE Act and the ACE Act both do that – make it harder for people to vote.” Morelle said he wants to see both parties support dedicated federal funding for election offices. He sees other bipartisan opportunities around limiting foreign money in U.S. elections and possibly imposing a voter ID requirement if certain safeguards are in place to protect voters. Democrats say some state laws are too restrictive in limiting the types of IDs that are acceptable for voting, making it harder for college students or those who lack a permanent address.

Donald Trump and the GOP have pressed for changes to the nation’s voting procedures by making it harder to vote, fueled by phony paranoia about “noncitizen voting.”

[calicojack1718]

Call Your MoC: The SAVE Act Won't Save Democracy, It Will Destroy It.

Reading time: 2 minutes Stop the Oligarchy, oppose the SAVE Act. Call your MoC and express your opposition to the SAVE Act. I give you a script and contact information. Everything you need to help save our democracy.

Call your Members of CongressThe Script for Calling Your MoCContact InformationImage Atrribution Influencing Your Member of Congress and Other Government Office Holders: A Guide to Surviving 2025 and Beyond One of the first bills being considered in the newly sworn-in Congress is the SAVE Act. It requires that all voters provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote. According to…

[govtshutdown]

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4870403-government-funding-senate-republicans/

Senate GOP gave Johnson until today to have a CR passed. Will they follow up on their threat to pass a clean CR?

[head-post]

House rejects temporary funding bill to avoid government shutdown

The House declined Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposal to tie temporary funding for the federal government to a mandate that states require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, according to AP News.

Next steps for government funding remain uncertain. Lawmakers face difficulty in finalising the dozen annual appropriations bills funding federal agencies over the next fiscal year. They will need to approve a temporary measure to avert a partial shutdown when the fiscal year begins on 1 October.

We’ll draw up another play and we’ll come up with a solution. I’m already talking to colleague about their many ideas. We have time to fix the situation and we’ll get right to it.

Johnson withdrew the bill from consideration last week as it lacked the votes to pass.

Requiring new voters to provide proof of citizenship has been a top Republican priority on the campaign trail. However, critics argue the requirement would disenfranchise millions of Americans who do not have a birth certificate or passport at hand.

But Johnson said it was a serious issue, since even a tiny percentage of non-citizens could determine the outcome of an extremely close race. He noted that Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa won the seat back in 2020 by a margin of six votes.

It’s very, very serious stuff and that’s why we’re going to do the right thing. We’re going to responsibly fund the government and we’re going to stop noncitizens voting in elections.

House Democrats argued that a proof-of-citizenship requirement should not be part of a bill to fund the government and urged Johnson to work with them on a measure capable of passing both chambers. Pete Aguilar stated:

[The SAVE Act] is not going to become law. This is Republican theatrics that are meant to appease the most extreme members of their conference, to show them that they are working on something and that they’re continuing to support the former president of the United States in his bid to demonise immigrants.

SAVE Act

The bill would fund agencies generally at current levels through 28 March while lawmakers settle their disagreements on a full-year spending agreement. However, Democrats and some Republicans are pushing for a shorter delay. A temporary solution would allow the current Congress to craft a final bill after the election and send it to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.

However, Johnson and some of the more conservative members of his conference are pushing for a six-month extension in the hope that Trump would win and give them more leverage in crafting a year-long bill. Meanwhile, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky declined to offer an opinion on how long to extend the funding.

The one thing you cannot have is a government shutdown. It would be politically beyond stupid for us to do that right before the election because certainly we would get the blame.

The House approved a bill with a citizenship verification mandate back in July. Some Republicans who see the issue as popular with their constituents, pushing for another chance to show their support.

Read more HERE

[tom4jc]

Communism On The Ballot 2024 (guest post)

This is an article by Gary, president and co-founder of Kingdom Winds and Kingdom Winds Collective, that looks at communism in America. OPINION – As the United States of America races towards November, it becomes increasingly clearer each day that the 2024 Presidential election will be the most consequential in our lifetime and probably in our nation’s history. Among the myriad of critical…

[freshfocusnews]

On July 10, 2024, the SAVE ACT, Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, cleared the House Chamber with a 221-198 vote. Only 5 Democrats voted with the 216 Republicans, which in my opinion, should have been a bipartisan vote clearing the House Chamber with a unanimous vote.

Before we move on to discuss more precise topics of what the SAVE ACT aims to do and how it closes loopholes in the current process, I wanted to take a few moments to acknowledge the 5 Democratic Congress members, that went against their own party and voted to restore fair and secure elections by requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections, so the American people can trust the election system with the known issues and problems that have been occurring and reported on a regular basis leading up to quite arguably the most important election of our lifetimes.

I do not know their reasons behind why they chose to vote against their party, but either way, it gives me hope that at least there are five Democrats that consider this a non-partisan issue. There should be some shared values between party lines. Having different views on certain issues can be healthy to explore different angles and perspectives. But as far as core values, shared between all parties, there should be more of them on the important issues with morality at the root of the issue being debated. And this is just one of those examples. I wish more would have joined them on such an important issue.

Also, I should mention that the common response as to why most Democrats have voted against this bill, is that requiring proof of citizenship would somehow disenfranchise marginalized groups of voters that may have issues obtaining these types of documents. This is simply not a valid reason, which I will go into more detail later in this article. With that said, knowing that the Democrats are using an invalid reason for not wanting to secure our election process; this begs the question, why do they not want to secure our election process so that Americans can trust the results?

For those of you that want to read the actual House Bill H.R. 8281 SAVE ACT, the link is below. 👇👇👇👇👇👇

For those of you that would like a more concise summary of the 22 page document, you can go to my summary here: 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

But here is the gist of it in a nutshell.

1.) The SAVE ACT requires all states to have a process in place to check individuals that are going through the process of getting a driver's license, state ID, applying for Medicare/Medicaid services, or at any other governrnment office covered under the NVRA(National Voters Registration Act) of 1993 as a place to be able to registster to vote, to validate with acceptable documentation, outlined in those links above (👆👆👆), to prove their citizenship status before being registered to vote.

2.) The SAVE ACT also requires that states have a process to check the validity of current individuals on voter registration rolls as valid US citizens and those identified as needing further validation be notified with an official communication with instructions about what is needed to validate citizenship and informing those that have already registered and those in the process of registering of the criminal penalties for knowingly providing false information to the government. There is also a required process in this program to purge non-citizens from voter registration rolls until documentary evidence that can prove citizenship is received before being placed back onto voter rolls.

3.) There is a component of the SAVE ACT, that aims to streamline the citizenship status verification process by intergovernmental agencies and data sharing. The approved verification sources are as follows;

A.) Department of Homeland Security using Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE)

B.) Social Security Administration through the use of Social security # verification service

C.) State agencies that supply State ID cards, Drivers Licenses in which the agency confirms the citizenship status of its applicants.

D.) Other sources, including databases that have the ability to confirm citizenship status.

4.) It should also be noted that an expansion with a few amendments to the NVRA of 1993, is that each state must maintain a program called the Election Assisistance Commission, which is a program that aims to help Americans that may need assistance with the process of navigating the process of obtaining proof of citizenship for the purpose of registering to vote. Further, the SAVE ACT, does allow for a pathway for those Americans that are without documentation or proof of citizenship that involve some alternate methods and an Affidavit process that a committee may approve using a case by case basis.

So, when I mentioned earlier, the common reason that many Democrats give about disenfranchising marginalized groups from being able to vote, I simply cannot see how this is a valid reason, given the requirement of Election Assisistance Commission State Programs. That along with alternate document pathways to voter registration with the Affidavit process, I don't see this being an issue.

But here are just a few issues in the news that show the integrity of our elections are in question:

1.) 👇👇👇

2.) 👇👇👇👇👇

3.) 👇👇👇👇👇

I could go on, much further with more news stories, but there are many more. Some claim there is no problem. But there obviously is a problem, with this large loophole in the process with no oversight. I will ask the question again; why don't more of our Democratic lawmakers want to close this loophole so Americans can feel that we have a fair and secure election system?

Unfortunately, even though the SAVE ACT cleared the House, I highly doubt Chuck Schumer will even let the Senate take a vote on it. Plus, Biden has already stated he will veto the bill.

I would love to hear your thoughts!

[daytimemin]

Currently there are at least 4 bills of concern that I know of:

H.R.8281 the Save Act - which could further restrict voting rights and access

H.R.734 the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act - which aims to ban transgender athletes from competing

H.R.7 the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act - which would ban federal funds from being used for abortion, including federal physicians and facilities from performing abortions with no exceptions, and while abortion activists that I follow are not concerned about this bill as of now, I still think it's something to keep an eye on

KOSA - Tech dirt has an article about Richard Blumenthal basically saying the quite part out loud about KOSA being a censorship bill... something to keep in mind when/if it is reintroduced

119th Congress Begins

Happy New Years! We've had a little bit of down time, but now things are going to pick back up because the next congressional session, the 119th Congress, is starting up and are already discussing passing harmful and controversial bills that threaten voting rights, the LGBTQ+, immigrants, and many more people. So, now is when we support our neighbors and communities and participate in local and national movements to try to fight back against such bills and try to stop them.

Also Blackburn and Blumenthal are already talking about reintroducing KOSA, which will once again probably have another up-hill battle and will face heavy opposition. In 2024, several advocates against KOSA said that it likely would've passed if it had not been for our calls and heavy push-back. This is momentum we need to maintain, not only for this bill, but others.

All this is to essential say we know what's coming and we know we have to work hard to push back and protect each other.

[cattnipt]

insert image of binghe character playlist by shen yuan with wolf in sheep's clothing in it