Deliveries Today to House District Offices from Maine to Nevada 

Today at noon, voting advocates from Common Cause Ohio, Toledo Persists, Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD), and local constituents from Ohio’s 9th District delivered petitions to the district office of Rep. Marcy Kaptur urging her to vote against the anti-voter SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act – H.R. 22). The bill is expected to be brought to the full House for a vote next week. The petition emphasizes that the proposed legislation would “scare newly naturalized citizens out of voting and make it harder for millions of eligible voters to cast a ballot – especially seniors, women, students, military, and rural voters.”  

The petition delivery to the district office at 1 Maritime Plaza # 600, Toledo, OH 43604 this afternoon is part of a nationwide effort that will see voting advocates visiting congressional offices from Maine to Nevada today.

Under the proposed legislation, every American would have to provide in-person proof of citizenship not only to register to vote but even to update their voter registration with a new address when moving across the street or across town. The SAVE Act would make it impossible for Americans to register to vote by mail, put an end to voter registration drives, and add hurdles for the 42 states that utilize online voter registration. Every change of address or political party would have to be done in person, causing voters to potentially spend many hours driving to their election office, waiting in long lines, and then driving back home just to register to vote. 

“The SAVE Act would disenfranchise millions of eligible, vulnerable voters and further burden hard-working county election officials, all in the name of chasing a false narrative” said Kelly Dufour, voting and elections manager at Common Cause Ohio. “Ohio elections are already safe and secure. The SAVE Act is designed to turn our elections system on its head. Together, we are standing firm and fighting for the fundamental right of eligible voters to participate in our own democracy.” 

The petition warns that the new requirements in the SAVE Act “could strip millions of eligible Americans of our right to vote – especially the 146 million Americans without passports and the 69 million American women whose birth certificates don’t match their married names.” When Kansas imposed similar requirements, the state blocked voter registrations of more than 31,000 U.S. citizens who were otherwise eligible to vote.   

“It’s our job to show up when our politicians aren’t listening. We’re here to remind our representative that Ohio has a long history of bipartisan election administration that ensures our elections are safe and secure. We urge Rep. Kaptur to reject the SAVE Act and avoid creating expensive election rules and  unnecessary obstacles for voters,” said Melissa Portala of Toledo Persists.

Petitions are also being delivered today to district offices of Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), Rep. John Mannion (D-NY), Rep. Don Davis (D-NC), Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY), Rep. Josh Riley (D-NY), and Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV).  

Each House District Office received the petition signatures of their constituents from among the hundreds of thousands of signatures gathered by Common Cause, Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD), Public Citizen, Workers Circle, The League of Conservation Voters, The League of Women Voters, Indivisible, Move On, Represent Us, People For the American Way (PFAW), Stand Up America, Generation Vote and DemCast.  

This bill provides no additional funding for already underfunded and overworked elections officials. 

To read the petition, click here.