CT leaders warn of chaos at the polls under Trump’s SAVE America Act
The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. It's a key sticking point in ending the government shutdown that has caused massive delays at airports.
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Connecticut leaders are warning that President Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act could make voting much more difficult – and more expensive for taxpayers.
The proposal is a key sticking point in the partial government shutdown that has led to massive delays at airports.
“I WANT OUT OF HERE”
Hourslong security lines are growing at tri-state airports. So is frustration.
“I want to get to the Bahamas. I want out of here,” said Chris Scali, a passenger from Brooklyn.
On Thursday, 28% of Transportation Security Agency workers at JFK Airport called out sick. Some 500 agents have quit altogether nationwide, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
TSA agents haven’t been paid in more than a month – partly because Congress is deadlocked over the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote.
“Polls show that the common sense policies in the SAVE America Act have support from the American people,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). “But Democrats have repeatedly demonstrated that they don’t share the American people's interest in securing our elections.”
A recent Gallup Poll found that 83% of Americans support requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
IMPACT ON CT
But on Thursday, Connecticut leaders warned that the SAVE America Act could make voting a logistical nightmare.
“I think this is one more way to scare people away from voting, make it more complicated for people to vote,” said Gov. Ned Lamont.
To register, you would need identification – plus a passport, birth certificate, military card or naturalization papers. A Connecticut driver’s license alone would not count.
“Many people think their Real ID driver’s license would verify their citizenship,” said Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas. “It does not. It verifies your identity.”
Nearly half of Americans don’t have a passport, and 69 million married women have a birth certificate with their maiden name listed, according to an analysis from the non-partisan think tank Center for American Progress.
The federal legislation is unclear about whether current voters would have to re-register with citizenship documents.
IN-PERSON REGISTRATION
Voters would also have to deliver citizenship documents in-person at their local city or town hall – even if they registered online or at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
“We’d have to probably build out infrastructure, both technology but also space within our community,” said Brian O'Connor with the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.
Local governments warned that taxpayers could foot the bill for extra staff and equipment, especially in rural areas.
“That gets picked up in the property taxes,” said Mary Calorio, with the Connecticut Council of Small Towns. “There’s not another place to put it.”
Election officials could also face jail time for accepting incomplete citizenship documents under the SAVE America Act.
In Connecticut, there are only five documented cases of noncitizens registering to vote in the past 40 years – and even fewer of them actually casting a ballot – according to the Secretary of the State’s office.
“Seems to me that this SAVE Act is a solution looking for a problem,” Lamont told reporters.
However, prosecutors allege that Bridgeport city councilman Alfredo Castillo tried to cast a ballot for an undocumented immigrant. But the woman went to police and the vote was never counted, according to an arrest warrant.
DEAL IN SIGHT?
Connecticut’s all-Democratic congressional delegation wants to fund TSA now and vote separately on the SAVE America Act.
“The cleanest thing to do is to just fund TSA,” said Sen. Chris Murphy. “Let’s do it today.”
But this week, Democrats blocked a Republican proposal to fund TSA. Critics want more limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement after agents killed two protesters in Minneapolis earlier this year.
The U.S. Senate planned to hold another vote on Thursday. But if that fails, Congress is scheduled to take a two-week break.
“I'm working hard to fund TSA and pay those dedicated workers so we can eliminate lines at the airport and we can do it separate from the funding of the Department of Homeland Security,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
If the shutdown drags on, smaller airports like Tweed New Haven and Westchester County Airport may have to close, TSA leaders told Congress on Wednesday.
“At this point, we have to look at all options on the table," acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill said. “And that does require us to, at some point, make very difficult choices as to which airports we might try to keep open and which ones we might have to shut down as our callout rates increase.”
