Rural New Yorkers could face greater challenges to vote from the federal SAVE America Act.
The bill requires voters to present a birth certificate or passport when voting, registering to vote, or updating their voter information. Data show most eligible voters, particularly in rural areas, don’t have access to these documents.
Michael Chameides, communications dirrector with the Rural Democracy Initiative said some proposals create bureaucratic barriers to voting.
“It would require things like you have to show your documents in person,” said Chameides. “And so, that means that you have to be able to drive to the single location where you can show those documents. That could be an hour away, and you have to drive during working business hours, so that means that you might have to take two or three hours off of work.”
The bill comes amid a series of ways to suppress or dissuade people from voting in this year’s midterm elections. President Donald Trump signed an executive order heavily restricting mail-in voting, even after he voted by mail for a Florida special election.
Not long after the executive order was approved, 23 states sued to block it.
A Siena College poll finds most New Yorkers support voter ID laws, but other polls show many Americans don’t support the SAVE Act, instead viewing it as voter suppression.
Federal attacks on voting rights stem from disinformation by President Trump about most voting methods being rife with fraud, though studies show they’re not. Chameides said New York’s voting system has various checks to reduce fraud while guaranteeing bipartisan collaboration.
“The way that it works by law is there are election commissioners and staff from the Republican Party and the Democratic Party,” said Chameides. “And then, for every step of the process, there’s members of both teams that approve every single step. There’s no one party that can approve a process.”
This means if someone registers to vote, members of both parties have to approve the person’s paperwork. He added that there are processes to prosecute someone who votes when they’re not supposed to.
Chameides said he feels the SAVE Act punishes everyone for the actions of the few.
Edwin is a reporter and producer in North Tonawanda, New York. He’s previously reported for the Niagara Gazette and the Ithaca Times. Edwin got an early start in radio interning for WBFO-88.7FM, NPR’s Buffalo affiliate. In 2018, he graduated from SUNY Buffalo State College with a B.A. in Journalism, and in 2022, graduated from Syracuse University with an M.S. in Communications.