Wyoming’s Congressional delegation and other GOP leaders are trying to find support for an election bill in Congress heavily criticized by civic-engagement voices.
Native American outreach groups call attention to proof of citizenship requirements.
What's known as the SAVE America Act would require an in-person verification of a U.S. passport or birth certificate when registering to vote in federal elections. Voters would also have to show a valid photo ID when it comes time to cast their ballot. Republican supporters frame it as a common-sense way of preventing voter fraud.
But O.J. Semans, co-executive director of South Dakota's Four Directions Native Vote, said it would only add obstacles for Tribal populations and millions of others.
"Creating legislation like this is only going to make it more difficult for people that want to participate to participate," Semans said, "and I don't think that's what the Founding Fathers wanted when they were talking about 'for the people, by the people.'"
The Native American Rights Fund and the Campaign Legal Center say the bill misleadingly claims that Natives can use their Tribal ID to register. Those groups say Tribal IDs, like other forms of government-issued identification, generally don't include place of birth details, which the plan mandates. They also say the change would harm elders born at home on Tribal lands and never got a birth certificate.
The measure has cleared the House, but political observers say it still faces uncertainty in the Senate.
The Brennan Center for Justice notes that numerous existing safeguards ensure that only U.S. citizens vote in elections. Meanwhile, with elevated levels of poverty in reservations, Semans said it would be almost impossible for many Tribe members to buy a new birth certificate.
"If you have to put milk on the table or get a piece of paper to go vote," Semans said, "which one are you going to do?"
Semans said court wins secured by voter outreach groups like his are expiring, and the last thing Native Americans need is a new deterrent from casting their ballot. The Brennan Center warns other populations would also be disenfranchised by the SAVE America Act, including millions of women whose married names aren’t on their birth certificates or passports.
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