Editor's note: Last week, we were asked by Dems Abroad to weigh in on the SAVE Act, that heinous attempt to force poor, married, and/or abroad voters to present, in person, our proof of citizenship so we could vote. Most of us abroad have passports, so, okay. Some may not. And those in the US who have married and changed their last names might have a harder time proving their enfranchisement rights. Like, you have to order up a birth certificate, PAY for it, of course, And so it goes ... anything to make voting more difficult for those who might vote against the autocratic tide.
Here's one example of what to do to help an elected official come up to speed with the issue and maybe, just maybe, vote on the side of voter rights. From one of our most respected Americans here in Greece! (name, ID details withheld)
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Dear Senator,
I am a U.S. citizen currently living in Greece and voting by absentee ballot in CITY, STATE, ZIP. I learned today that the so-called SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act (H.R.22/S.128)) will, if passed, probably deprive me and millions of overseas U.S. citizens of our right to vote.
Yes, I have a U.S. passport to prove my citizenship, but no, I cannot make a special trip back to my home district every year or two to physically show that passport to my local election official in CITY. The law is written so narrowly that local election officials will feel they have no choice but to throw millions of overseas American citizens off the voter rolls. Thus, the bill will, in practice if not by explicit mandate, overturn the right to absentee ballot voting enshrined in the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).
Americans living and working overseas, whether for the U.S. military and government agencies or in the private sector, play an important role in promoting U.S. national interests. Does the U.S. Congress really want to deprive us of our rights as citizens?
Note that the new Administration has ordered an additional 10 percent cut in staffing of U.S. Embassies and consulates. Please express your strong disapproval of this step, which harms both U.S. citizens and U.S. national interests. We must maintain the robust international infrastructure required to deal with the crises ahead. The U.S. Embassy in Athens is already understaffed. American Citizen Services have been cut back to a bare minimum. There is no way the Embassy can help 80,000 U.S. citizen in Greece, whether to document their voting rights or to protect them from a likely upsurge in anti-U.S. sentiment if the Administration follows its current rhetoricAs a white South African, Elon Musk has personal reasons for wishing to overturn majority rule. Perhaps President Trump has his own reasons for doing so. But please be mindful of your oath to the Constitution and our sacred principle of one person one vote.
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The vote on the SAVE Act seems still in the next few days. But the sentiment here is pure Constitution. Save as a sample. It may come up again.