Editor,
At his recent town hall, U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin claimed that the SAVE Act is a voter suppression tactic about power and control. Mullin stated that the bill would force married women who changed their last name to “reregister to vote by digging up her birth certificate,” “get a copy of her marriage license and then go in person to reregister to vote. Then she would have to pay $165 to get a new passport with her married name just so she could cast a ballot.” This is a flat out false.
The bill explicitly prohibits states and the federal government from charging fees to verify citizenship. It also provides alternatives for voters who may not have documentation, including the ability to submit a sworn affidavit to establish eligibility.
What is truly dangerous is not the bill, but the deliberate weaponization of misinformation for political gain by Mullin. Telling voters they will be forced to spend a significant amount of money while navigating the burdensome bureaucracy is classic fear mongering. These false claims will intimidate eligible voters and erode public trust in elections. Thus, Mullin is guilty of the very voter suppression he claims to be fighting.
Grace Xuereb
Burlingame
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(10) comments
Should politicians who intentionally lie and mislead their flocks be waterboarded?
Well, CiB, if so, Trump would have drowned long ago!
And if we could extend the “lying” punishment to the SMDJ writers who knowingly write falsehoods then you would be on the list. Now let’s see if you can tell the truth and share what Trump has lied about. No examples of REL opinion or Trump exaggerating. Real lies like, “if you want to keep your healthcare, you can and your healthcare premiums will go down by $150 a month”.
Oh CiB, give me a challenge. He originally lied about Obama being born in Kenya. Or, we will build a wall and Mexico will pay for it. Or, more recent, he promised no new wars in his presidency, but has started 8 wars in the last two years, and is promising to take down Cuba! Or, he has a "concept of a plan" on a healthcare plan to replace Obamacare. Next time, give me a challenge instead of trying to insult me personally.
If you want a reply then don’t block “replies”.
Trump said in a telephone interview on the program that he would not back off the issue, and that over the last few weeks he has only become more skeptical that Obama was born in the U.S. Trump also defended his position, saying, "His grandmother in Kenya said, 'Oh no, he was born in Kenya and I was there and I witnessed the birth.' Now, she's on tape and I think that tape's going to be produced fairly soon ...The grandmother in Kenya is on record saying he was born in Kenya." That’s NOT A LIE, Trump simply was stating and opinion and that there are contradictions.
There are NOT eight new wars, Trump stopped the Hamas / Israel war that Biden started by his weakness. I know that can be argued, the reality is it’s not a lie, Trump had no intention of starting wars, he’s only cleaning up after Obama and Biden. Sometimes an honorable president has to do what is right for the nation. From your lack of logic and common sense, since President Trump said I would not start wars, I cannot protect the United States, how can you be so stupid REl? Because Trump hasn’t fixed Obama’s lies and mess yet regarding Obamacare is NOT NOT NOT a lie
CiB, I have no control over the “reply” button, that is purely a SMDJ function and option. If you have a problem with the inability to comment, take that up with the editorial staff.
Facts are pesky things. There has never been any basis in fact that Obama was born anywhere but Hawaii. Trump even doubled down on his lie by saying he was sending a team to Hawaii to prove his lie which, of course, he never did.
Trump and honorable president? Who knew? He has hardly “cleaned up” after Obama and Biden over Iran. In every measurable way of judging the War on Iran, our nation is worse off the before. The Strait of Hormuz was open and unimpeded before. The Iranian government is run by even more hardliners than before. The Iranian people are not more pro American than before. Twelve of our soldiers and hundreds of schoolkids in Iran cannot become undead. And, finally Trump is seeking an agreement on nuclear weapons that will not be nearly as good as the JCPOA he unilaterally tore up. Trump started a war in which he is desperate to find a winning off ramp.
Trump has not presented any plan to replace Obamacare while millions are now either uninsured or pay dramatically expensive premiums due to the Big Ugly Bill.
Hey CA Is Burning, many thanks for taking on the Sisyphean task of attempting to educate Rel on the facts but IMO, you’re wasting your time. Folks like Rel operate on emotion rather than logic. Rel continues to be afflicted with TDS and still tries to blame our (yes, our) great President Trump for the 1/6 riot which occurred due to Pelosi’s admitted dereliction of duty to protect the Capitol. If Rel perpetually lies about that then what else is he willing to lie about? I’d say just about everything. To wit, Rel says Trump started 8 wars? Hilarious. Next time, Rel is going to say Trump caused the multiple Ice Ages we’ve encountered. Perhaps Rel can educate us on why Al Gore’s global warming prediction didn’t come to pass and why Al Gore is now predicting a global cooling age.
I agree in general with Ms. Xuereb’s comment against “deliberate weaponization of misinformation for political gain.” I did not attend the town meeting, but given the account in the LTE, Mr. Mullin has a point. Half of Americans do not have a passport and many cannot locate their birth certificates easily. Many women have names that do not match their birth certificates, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/new-save-act-bills-would-still-block-millions-americans-voting. A similar law was passed in Kansas and later struck down by Federal courts after 31,000 citizens were not able to vote. https://apnews.com/article/kansas-noncitizen-voting-proof-of-citizenship-50d56a0b8d1f0fde15480aab3db67f4f?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share. Implementation of the act, if passed, is still murky and fraught with issues. It is not as easy as boarding a plane. A Real ID is generally not recognized as proof of citizenship. Verification would be by local officials at the county level with an unknown level of federal guidance and support and funding. If worse comes to worse, and a citizen cannot produce their paperwork, it is pointed out that a signed, sworn affidavit would be accepted. However, if it comes down to it, would an elected county official risk losing their position and facing jail time to sign off on the affidavit no matter how small the chance of fraud? The bill itself, by implying it is needed to fight fraud, is voter suppression in itself. It could sow doubts in election if voters know ten percent of eligible voters could possibly have been prevented to vote, https://factually.co/fact-checks/politics/kansas-proof-of-citizenship-effect-on-voter-registration-administrator-lessons-360f77,
Here we go again with a regurgitation of Democrat talking points… Hey ClashFan, we’ve gone over your alleged lack of access to documents in the past. Type in “how fast can I get a copy of birth certificate or marriage certificate” and results will tell you how quickly and what steps to take. If one is unable to go, in-person, to retrieve documents, one can easily access the internet to obtain documents to be delivered. Almost 100% of Americans have access to broadband and for those who don’t they can find someone that does. Besides, didn’t one need a birth certificate to get a driver’s license? Pass the SAVE America Act. Personally, I’d say pass the MEGA Act - a better piece of legislation. BTW, why would you be okay with any percentage of voter fraud? Thank you for your attention to this matter.
MissTY: Have you even noticed how far into the ranks of the incompetents Trump had to dig in order to find someone even less competent than himself, just so that he wouldn’t be outshone?
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