WASHINGTON — As the Senate takes up the SAVE Act this week, a new analysis from the Brennan Center for Justice warns the proposed legislation could significantly restrict voting access for millions of Americans, even as the report highlights promising reforms taking place within the U.S. prison system.
According to the Brennan Center report, the SAVE Act “could block more than 21 million Americans from voting,” raising major concerns among voting rights advocates as debate begins in the Senate.
The analysis describes the bill as “egregious” and “stuffed with bad ideas,” pointing specifically to new voter registration requirements that would mandate documents such as passports or birth certificates. According to the report, these requirements are “more restrictive than the current rules in every state except Ohio.”
The report emphasizes that the legislation goes far beyond standard voter ID laws. “The requirement to show a passport or birth certificate to register to vote would block many, many more American citizens from voting,” the analysis states.
In addition to identification requirements, the report notes that the SAVE Act would require states to share sensitive voter information with the Department of Homeland Security. According to the analysis, this raises concerns about potential federal overreach and voter privacy, especially because the federal government has already sought access to voter data in some states.
The report also highlights potential amendments to the bill, including one that would “effectively end voting by mail,” which further expands concerns about voter access.
Despite arguments from supporters that the bill is focused on election integrity, the analysis points to polling data suggesting otherwise. According to the report, a recent national poll found that the percentage of voters who identified election integrity as the country’s top issue was “zero.”
While the SAVE Act dominates political attention in Washington, the Brennan Center report also points to a separate and more hopeful development occurring across the country, specifically within the American prison system.
According to the report, “something interesting and encouraging is going on” in U.S. prisons, where reforms aimed at improving conditions and outcomes for incarcerated people are beginning to show measurable success.
The analysis explains that researchers spent three years examining correctional systems nationwide and identified what it describes as “green shoots” of reform that have emerged across multiple states.
In Maine, for example, the report states that expanded access to education, job training and mental health support has contributed to a one-third reduction in recidivism and a 40 percent decrease in prison violence.
Similarly, according to the report, reforms in South Carolina that emphasize more humane supervision for young adults resulted in a “73 percent reduction in the odds of being written up for violence” and an “83 percent reduction in restrictive housing stays.”
The report notes that these reforms have been implemented in both Republican- and Democratic-led states, suggesting broad recognition of the need for improvements in the criminal legal system.
At the same time, the analysis underscores the broader contrast between national politics and local reform efforts. It describes the current political moment as “a performative floor fight in the Senate,” while correctional officials across the country are engaging in “bold, persistent experimentation” to improve outcomes.
The report concludes by encouraging public engagement, particularly in response to the SAVE Act, while also recognizing the importance of expanding successful prison reform efforts nationwide.
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In my opinion the bottom line is Democrat politicians hate voter ID because it makes it harder for them to cheat.
But Americans want Voter ID:
“A Pew Research Center poll in August tested a variety of election rules and found that 83% of U.S. adults support “requiring all voters to show government-issued photo identification to vote,” while 16% oppose it.
That’s up from 77% support in a 2012 Pew poll.
Support now includes 71% of self-identified Democrats, 83% of independents and 76% of Black voters.
“It kind of feels like the only Americans not to support voter ID requirements are Democrats here in Congress,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said on the floor.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/americans-support-photo-id-vote-democrats-oppose-save-america-act-rcna259549