The President is doing everything in his power to silence you and to shut you out from our democracy. And he has accomplices in every level of government aiding and abetting his power grab, including here in New York.

There’s no time to beat around the bush – through federal legislation, state legislation, and Executive Order, our right to vote is on the line.

The Trump administration and our state lawmakers need to know that their actions hurt real people – Americans like you and me who have every right to participate in our democracy.

We ask you to join New Yorkers across the state in sharing your story with us. How will you be affected by these anti-voter measures?

Your voice matters and we’ll make sure it’s heard. We’ll be in touch with you about opportunities to continue speaking up. Whether it’s writing letters to the editor, calling or emailing your reps, meeting with them in person, or sharing your story on social media, we’ll find an outlet that’s comfortable and empowering for you.

Background

Extremists in office at are working at all levels of government to construct barriers to the ballot and disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.

The SAVE Act is a federal bill requiring Americans to show their birth certificate or passport when registering to vote.

S1299 is a state level bill requiring a birth certificate, passport, certificate of naturalization or citizenship, or evidence of New York state residency when registering to vote.

Trump’s recent Executive Order on Elections attempts to put the White House in charge of elections by instituting unreasonable limits on when ballots can be counted and how to verify eligible voters.

Requiring Voter ID at the polls is harmful and unnecessary.

• 34.5 million people either don’t have a driver’s license or state ID OR have one that doesn’t have their current name and/or address on it.
• Citizens of color are almost four times more likely to not have a current government-issued photo ID, as compared to white citizens.
• 19% of Americans without a driver’s license don’t have one because of bureaucratic or economic barriers — like not being able to afford the cost of the license or not having underlying documents like a birth certificate.
• Rural areas have significantly fewer DMV locations. And older adults may face challenges renewing IDs due to mobility issues or health problems that prevent them from getting to the DMV.
• Numerous analyses have shown that it is more likely that someone will be struck by lightning than impersonate another voter at the polls.
• Voter impersonation fraud is a crime under state law.

Requiring voters to show proof of citizenship including a birth certificate or passport to register to vote would be harmful and unnecessary, violate federal law and the U.S. Constitution, and be difficult to implement.

• More than 21 million U.S. citizens of voting age don’t have proof of citizenship readily available, either because they do not have it at all or because they could not access it easily if needed. Only about half of American adults have a passport, and millions lack access to a paper copy of their birth certificate.

• Voters who change their names — including millions of married women — often lack proof of citizenship reflecting their current names. Two-thirds of Black Americans lack a valid U.S. passport, and passport ownership increases dramatically with income.

• When Arizona and Kansas adopted proof-of-citizenship requirements for their states’ elections, tens of thousands of eligible citizens were blocked from registering.