Suzanne Bonamici Decries SAVE Act: ‘It’s Voter Suppression And It’s Wrong’

11 months ago

During a debate on the House floor on Thursday, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) slammed the then proposed SAVE Act, which requires voters to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

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Transcript

00:00Mr. Speaker, I'd like to yield a minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from the

00:04state of Oregon, Ms. Bonamici.

00:07Gentlewoman is recognized.

00:08Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Morelli, for yielding.

00:11I rise today in strong opposition to the SAVE Act.

00:14This bill will make it more difficult to register to vote, and it will prevent millions of American

00:20citizens, including married women who changed their name, and rural Americans, from exercising

00:25their right to vote.

00:27It creates an enormous and expensive unfunded mandate on election offices, and for what?

00:34Federal law already requires people to attest, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S.

00:39citizens when they register to vote.

00:41Non-citizens attempting to register to vote is exceedingly rare, and if they do, they face

00:46severe consequences, including fines up to five years in prison and deportation.

00:52Mr. Speaker, more than 140 million Americans do not have a passport, approximately 70 million

00:59women do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name, and millions

01:04and millions of rural voters would have to travel long distances to try to register to vote.

01:09We don't have to guess what would happen if this bill were to pass.

01:13In 2011, Kansas had a proof of citizenship requirement that actually prevented more than 30,000...

01:19Can I have an extra 15 seconds?

01:21Barred?

01:22Would you extend the gentlelady 15 more seconds?

01:25Mr. Speaker?

01:26The gentleman has extended the gentlewoman from Oregon 15 seconds.

01:29In Kansas, more than 30,000 U.S. citizens, 12 percent of everyone seeking to register to

01:33vote, were barred from voting.

01:35Other states have tried, and in all of them, a significant number of citizens have been wrongly

01:39barred from voting.

01:41It's unacceptable.

01:42It's voter suppression, and it's wrong.

01:44I urge all of my colleagues to vote no on the SAVE Act, and I yield back the balance of

01:48my time.

01:49The gentleman's time has expired.

01:50The gentleman from Wisconsin.

Suzanne Bonamici Decries SAVE Act: ‘It’s Voter Suppression And It’s Wrong’

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