FARGO, N.D. (LWV) – The following is an editorial from the League of Woman Voters (LWV) office in Fargo, N.D.

“92-year old Helen lives in an assisted living facility in Minot. She’s legally-blind and no longer has a driver’s license. For her North Dakota voter ID, she uses a long term care ID certificate.

Each election year, League of Women Voters members in Minot visit assisted living facilities to help seniors fill out an application for an absentee ballot. Most of the seniors use a long term care ID certificate for their voter ID, since they no longer have a driver’s license.

The SAVE America Act – currently being debated in the US Senate – would require a photo ID to vote in federal elections, making it harder for seniors in assisted living to vote, since the long term care ID certificate doesn’t have a photo.

The SAVE America Act would also require citizenship documentation for those registering to vote in federal elections. North Dakota is the only state in the nation without voter registration, but the bill would require our state to establish a system for voters to provide citizenship documentation to vote in federal elections.

Adding this documentation would make it harder for eligible voters, especially married women, to cast their ballot. Those who have changed their name, like many married women in North Dakota, would be required to provide updated documentation to vote.

This bill is unnecessary and makes it harder to vote when it’s already illegal for non-citizens to register and vote in federal or state elections.

Senators Hoeven and Cramer, we urge you to vote no on the SAVE America Act, so eligible North Dakota voters, like 92-year-old Helen in Minot, can exercise their right to vote without additional hurdles.

Kathy Tweeten, LWVND President