When a bill passed the U.S. House last month seeking to overhaul the way Americans register to vote, a narrative emerged that it could bar millions of married women from voting.
The same conversation circulated after President Donald Trump signed a similar executive order in March.
Both the federal bill, called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, and the executive order would require every American to provide “documentary” proof of citizenship — in person — when registering or re-registering to vote in federal elections.
Documentary proof refers to documents that establish a person’s status as a citizen, such as a U.S. passport, a birth certificate, a certificate of citizenship or naturalization papers.
The Trump administration has maintained the change is needed to prevent voting fraud, but the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice said the SAVE Act would be an “operational nightmare, an unfunded mandate, and put election officials at legal risk — all for an unnecessary requirement. There are already multiple protections in place to ensure that only eligible U.S. citizens can vote."
How would it affect married women?
Both the bill (should it become law) and the executive order could affect some 69 million married women across the country who changed their names when they wed — women who don’t have birth certificates that match their current names, according to the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C.-based progressive think tank. These women would likely need additional documentation to vote.
How many married Minnesota women could be affected?
The Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office said it doesn’t know for sure, but we tried to unearth that number. The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey says there are 1.2 million married women in Minnesota. Since the Pew Research Center estimates 79% of married women change their names, that would make for 948,000 Minnesota women who may find it difficult to vote in federal elections under the Republican-led overhaul.
Anyone else potentially affected?
Yes, but again, we don’t have exact numbers. It could include transgender people who have changed their names. All told, there are about 26,000 people who identify as transgender in Minnesota, or 0.6% of the state’s adult population, according to the Williams Institute, an LGBTQ+ think tank at UCLA.