The SAVE America Act is Jim Crow’s comeback

After the 1870 ratification of the 15th Amendment, barring states from depriving citizens the right to vote based on race, southern states began enacting Jim Crow measures, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, to keep African Americans from the polls.

In launching the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act, President Trump has subtly channeled these techniques, long since outlawed, to delegitimize many eligible Black voters and, if that is not successful, pave the way to delegitimize the vote itself. 

Trump has bet much of his political capital on passage of the measure, which he deemed “one of the most IMPORTANT & CONSEQUENTIAL pieces of legislation in the history of Congress.” 

The bill would require voters to provide proof of citizenship to register and show photo identification at the polls to vote. It also instructs states to hand over their voter rolls to the Department of Homeland Security, raising privacy and surveillance concerns. In addition, the measure would all but eliminate mail-in voter registration and voting, long Trump’s bete noire. 

After narrowly passing the House, the measure is now being debated in the Senate. If enacted, this bill will ride roughshod over the voting rights of millions of Americans.

The proposed legislation is totally unnecessary. It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. The burden of the law would deter millions of eligible Black voters from voting, as well as new voters and women who typically do not have appropriate documentation. 

Trump told lawmakers that the bill would “guarantee the midterms” for the Republican Party. That should be the first sign that........

© The Hill