Trump's SAVE Act would make it a crime for my mother to vote—simply because she has followed the law and American customs her entire life.
She's been married five times. Each time she legally took her husband's last name. Despite the fact that government approved each of these name changes, the SAVE Act would require her to produce a paper trail for each marriage and divorce, all the way back to birth!
My mother is 89. “I don't even remember who all I was married to,” she once joked to me. She does know this, though: This American-born Vermont liberal and life-long civic participant who has voted in every election since 1954 cannot stand Donald Trump, and has every right to vote against his facist agenda -- including the SAVE Act -- in 2026!
How about we SAVE this wonderful, patriotic old American great-grandma from the Republican Party, which HAS and IS rigging elections!
This is such an important example, thank you for sharing it. Your mother’s story is why this bill is so dangerous... it turns lawful life events like marriage and name changes into serious barriers.
Thank you. And thank you for the reminder that I have serious stuff to do to deal with that. I’m overwhelmed with fights for democracy and sometimes forget little things — like the personal survival of myself and my loved ones, lol.
Is it possible MAGA-voting citizens will be “deleteriously” affected in greater numbers than their opponents? In the 2024 election results I saw, there were a comparatively huge number of voters who voted for #47 only, without ANY down-ballot selections.
(I’m quoting from memory without tracking this down.) What I saw showed 8-10 times more-#47 ONLY-votes than-Kamala ONLY-votes, or votes with no down-ballot selections. Rightfully or not, I interpreted that as 3) most voters who vote for only their presidential candidates are less informed than others, and 2) If that’s true, there are more of them than there are of us. And 1) Will those same voters be sufficiently informed and motivated to get “their papers” together in time to vote, register to vote, or re-register to vote for 2026?
DHS Oversight demise is really scary. Slowly, all defenses are being eroded. What’s going on in these concentration camps is unbelievable and under reported. Detainees are threatened to keep their mouths shut and there are fewer and fewer people for them to turn to. Atrocities are occurring all over the country.
Voting rights are being dismantled before our eyes. Not only is pressure coming from the regime in the WH, it’s happening in many of our state legislatures. As bad as each of these concerns are, and I believe the human rights violations are far reaching and severely underestimated, the opposition will be neutralized if we can’t vote. It’s their only hope to ‘win’ and our only hope for putting this nightmare to rest.
I think that's exactly right. Voting rights are foundational because once access to the ballot is weakened, other avenues of accountability become more difficult. And you’re also right that this is not just a White House story... state legislatures are a HUGE part of the picture too.
Not automatically, at least not yet. Multiple report are saying the effect on VOA operations and whether journalists actually return is still unclear. :/
Trump's SAVE Act would make it a crime for my mother to vote—simply because she has followed the law and American customs her entire life.
She's been married five times. Each time she legally took her husband's last name. Despite the fact that government approved each of these name changes, the SAVE Act would require her to produce a paper trail for each marriage and divorce, all the way back to birth!
My mother is 89. “I don't even remember who all I was married to,” she once joked to me. She does know this, though: This American-born Vermont liberal and life-long civic participant who has voted in every election since 1954 cannot stand Donald Trump, and has every right to vote against his facist agenda -- including the SAVE Act -- in 2026!
How about we SAVE this wonderful, patriotic old American great-grandma from the Republican Party, which HAS and IS rigging elections!
This is such an important example, thank you for sharing it. Your mother’s story is why this bill is so dangerous... it turns lawful life events like marriage and name changes into serious barriers.
Thank you. And thank you for the reminder that I have serious stuff to do to deal with that. I’m overwhelmed with fights for democracy and sometimes forget little things — like the personal survival of myself and my loved ones, lol.
Need an "all" option on that poll there.
Is it possible MAGA-voting citizens will be “deleteriously” affected in greater numbers than their opponents? In the 2024 election results I saw, there were a comparatively huge number of voters who voted for #47 only, without ANY down-ballot selections.
(I’m quoting from memory without tracking this down.) What I saw showed 8-10 times more-#47 ONLY-votes than-Kamala ONLY-votes, or votes with no down-ballot selections. Rightfully or not, I interpreted that as 3) most voters who vote for only their presidential candidates are less informed than others, and 2) If that’s true, there are more of them than there are of us. And 1) Will those same voters be sufficiently informed and motivated to get “their papers” together in time to vote, register to vote, or re-register to vote for 2026?
DHS Oversight demise is really scary. Slowly, all defenses are being eroded. What’s going on in these concentration camps is unbelievable and under reported. Detainees are threatened to keep their mouths shut and there are fewer and fewer people for them to turn to. Atrocities are occurring all over the country.
Voting rights are being dismantled before our eyes. Not only is pressure coming from the regime in the WH, it’s happening in many of our state legislatures. As bad as each of these concerns are, and I believe the human rights violations are far reaching and severely underestimated, the opposition will be neutralized if we can’t vote. It’s their only hope to ‘win’ and our only hope for putting this nightmare to rest.
I think that's exactly right. Voting rights are foundational because once access to the ballot is weakened, other avenues of accountability become more difficult. And you’re also right that this is not just a White House story... state legislatures are a HUGE part of the picture too.
Does this mean the VOA journalists she fired will get their jobs back?
Not automatically, at least not yet. Multiple report are saying the effect on VOA operations and whether journalists actually return is still unclear. :/