In La Plata County and across Colorado, election officials keep saying the same thing: our system is strong, secure, and designed to count every eligible vote – and only eligible votes. Years of research show that serious voter fraud is extremely rare.
Part of today's confusion comes from two things with similar names. The federal SAVE program helps agencies verify immigration status for public benefits, not as a citizenship checker for voting. The system makes “persistent mistakes,” frequently misidentifying naturalized citizens as noncitizens and referring them to the Department of Homeland Security for investigation. Because it wasn't built to track citizenship, experts warn that using it for voter roll purges removes many eligible voters.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility or SAVE America Act is something entirely different: a federal bill that passed the House on February 12th that imposes onerous proof of citizenship requirements to vote. It would require documentary proof of citizenship – a passport or birth certificate – when registering, plus photo ID when casting a ballot. Women who change their last names when they marry (about 85%) would face new hurdles since their birth certificate wouldn't match current identification.
The bill would also prohibit universal voting by mail, requiring all mail voters to submit an application with photo ID in order to receive a mail ballot. It would block states from counting absentee ballots received after Election Day (although postmarked before Election Day), and require frequent voter purges (every 30 days) that risk removing eligible citizens. And it would mandate that states share voter registration data with the federal government, which would create personal criminal liability for election officials who violate the law.
More than 20 million American citizens lack easy access to the required documents or cannot afford them, according to the Brennan Center, and half of Americans don't possess a passport, according to USA Today. The SAVE Act would impose an unconstitutional cost to vote – effectively a poll tax – because of fees to get a birth certificate or a passport.
Supporters of the SAVE Act argue these steps are necessary to prevent noncitizen voting. However, even the American Immigration Council's review of the conservative Heritage Foundation's national database shows just 68 cases of noncitizen voting across the country over multiple election cycles in the past 40 years. Only 10 involved undocumented immigrants; the rest were people with lawful status who misunderstood the rules. A Brennan Center review of 23.5 million votes in 2016 found only about 30 suspected cases of noncitizen voting. A Georgia audit by its Secretary of State of 8.2 million voters found 20 noncitizens registered to vote, with only 9 noncitizens who had voted – roughly one in a million. The SAVE America Act addresses a problem that does not exist.
Election security has grown substantially stronger in recent years. An overwhelming majority of Americans now vote on systems that produce a paper ballot, allowing states to conduct audits and recounts using physical ballots. Most states require postelection audits, and swing states deploy multiple layers of security – preelection testing, locked equipment, bipartisan observers, and network isolation (voting machines and election systems are completely disconnected from the internet and other external networks).
Voter skeptics often raise three worries: mail-in ballots, machines, and mass noncitizen registration and voting. States using universal mail-in ballots, including Colorado, show very low fraud rates because mail-in voting adds signature verification and bar code tracking. Voting machines can be hacked in theory, but pretesting, sealed hardware, and paper backups make it possible to detect and correct problems. Motor-voter systems can misfire occasionally, but noncitizens who actually register and vote remain tiny – and such voting is a felony.
None of this means we should stop improving our systems. But sweeping national rules like the SAVE America Act risk doing more harm than good by making it harder for millions of eligible Americans to vote to address a problem that does not exist.
In Durango, the most constructive response is to stay informed about how our local elections work, support those who run them, and keep our skepticism aimed at unproven claims – not at the secure systems that have reflected the will of voters. If you still have doubts, attend the LWV-sponsored “Voter Security and Access” presentation by County Clerk Tiffany Lee on April 21 at the Durango Public Library. Tell our senators to vote no on the SAVE America Act.
Siggy Palmer, Martha Mason, Jan Phillips and Wendy Pollak are members of the League of Women Voters of La Plata County Voter Services Committee.
