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634-5789

(4,663 posts)
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 06:45 AM 19 hrs ago

Why my head hurts: This exchange just happened Thursday on the Senate floor.

Cornyn: “I don’t understand how the SAVE Act disenfranchises voters.”

Durbin: “Happy to explain. Driver’s licenses don’t qualify under the bill. 50% of Americans don’t have passports.”
Cornyn: “Why not just amend it?”

Durbin: “When’s the last time the Senate actually amended a bill?”

Silence.

The SAVE Act requires passport-level documentation to register to vote.

50% of Americans don’t have a passport.

The people least likely to have passports: the elderly, the poor, rural Americans, young first-time voters.

The people most likely to have passports: wealthy Americans.

This is not voter protection. This is voter selection.

And when a senator suggested fixing it — his own colleague couldn’t name the last time the Senate amended anything.

That’s the Senate in 2026.

My thanks to Brian Allen
@allenanalysis

56 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Why my head hurts: This exchange just happened Thursday on the Senate floor. (Original Post) 634-5789 19 hrs ago OP
Not to forget that: no_hypocrisy 19 hrs ago #1
It's a poll tax. sop 18 hrs ago #5
A poll tax that also has to be renewed every ten years, I believe. no_hypocrisy 18 hrs ago #7
I don't have a passport Mr.Bee 13 hrs ago #24
Great Catch! Chasstev365 19 hrs ago #2
Many "uneducated" blubunyip 17 hrs ago #12
Theoretically yes BannonsLiver 13 hrs ago #26
That's an interesting thought. I imagine in red states, AleksS 2 hrs ago #55
Ugh. Not at all shocked it's Cornyn. mwmisses4289 18 hrs ago #3
It would disenfranchise married women the most. Squaredeal 18 hrs ago #4
Infuriating EuterpeThelo 15 hrs ago #17
I have read news reports that say a marriage certificate won't be accepted as ID in the event of a divorce. love_katz 3 hrs ago #50
Spot on! Since more than a couple GOP pols and influencers suggested women should not be able to vote Attilatheblond 10 hrs ago #34
I just had to go through all this for the RealID. slightlv 4 hrs ago #46
I have read that RealID won't be accepted as proof of citizenship. love_katz 3 hrs ago #53
It took me 9 months to get my passport because marybourg 1 hr ago #56
This bill is clearly intended to disenfranchise women and minorities since fewer of them vote for Republicans. Lonestarblue 18 hrs ago #6
it will also disenfranchise trans people LymphocyteLover 17 hrs ago #10
I got my passport a year ago. Saw the brown stuff ready to hit the fan. twodogsbarking 17 hrs ago #8
mine arrived last week. processing times are currently very quick, FWIW. uncle ray 15 hrs ago #18
Mine too a bit longer. I had to get a new birth certificate. The old ones did not name your parents like the new ones. twodogsbarking 15 hrs ago #19
i prepared and got a fresh new copy, only to be told the old one was actually better! uncle ray 11 hrs ago #30
Mainers, heads up! Susan Collins appears to waver on support for the act, Easterncedar 17 hrs ago #9
Susan Collins wavering? Thanks for my first laugh of the day. efhmc 16 hrs ago #13
Hah! Yeah, but her reelection is not so sure this time Easterncedar 13 hrs ago #23
Why is a person like this even in politics? efhmc 2 hrs ago #54
Bitch is concerned.. thomski64 3 hrs ago #51
Cornyn is even dumber than I thought. JFC LymphocyteLover 17 hrs ago #11
I kinda thought he was being deliberately dumb... ananda 16 hrs ago #14
Cornyn is worthless garbage Scalded Nun 16 hrs ago #15
It seems like this would disenfranchise more Republican voters. CaptainTruth 16 hrs ago #16
Sounds like the rural midwest, where I live now! Bro and I live within 20 minutes of our hometown. slightlv 4 hrs ago #47
It doesn't require a passport to vote ScratchCat 14 hrs ago #20
That is incorrect mcar 13 hrs ago #25
I wouldn't trust this SCOTUS to strike it down, ScratchCat! slightlv 4 hrs ago #48
TLDR: Jim Crow Must Go. usonian 13 hrs ago #21
From what I have read, this bill will disenfrancise both republicans and Democrats. patphil 13 hrs ago #22
Renewed my passport late last year. Very quick Joinfortmill 9 hrs ago #36
I was told yesterday by my tax preparer that AAA helps with the process. patphil 9 hrs ago #38
See my reply above yours... slightlv 4 hrs ago #49
Talarico's gonna mop up the floor with Cornyn ... nt TBF 12 hrs ago #27
LOL sure. In Texas. maxsolomon 9 hrs ago #37
Here's hoping, anyway. calimary 7 hrs ago #41
I know it's not all that likely - TBF 6 hrs ago #43
About 50% Timewas 12 hrs ago #28
Some educated people also don't have passports. SidneyR 12 hrs ago #29
The problem (ostensibly) is voter fraud Seinan Sensei 10 hrs ago #31
Cornyn is an idiot LetMyPeopleVote 10 hrs ago #32
ISN'T PAYING A FEE IN ORDER TO VOTE ILLEGAL? Jimvanhise 10 hrs ago #33
Jeezus. What a goddamn mess. Joinfortmill 9 hrs ago #35
Congress is ... alimbalt 8 hrs ago #39
That's a good one! calimary 7 hrs ago #42
Voting should be mandatory. $40 lazy tax going to the inside the beltway constitutional officer yacht club Gum Logger 8 hrs ago #40
..and GOP is already reducing avenues for obtaining passports..ending allowing libraries to assist BlueWaveNeverEnd 5 hrs ago #44
I never knew they did! Callie1979 4 hrs ago #45
Hey Senator Asshat... FalloutShelter 3 hrs ago #52

no_hypocrisy

(54,808 posts)
1. Not to forget that:
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 06:56 AM
19 hrs ago

1. The average price of a passport is $135 and closer to $200 if you're in a hurry.

2. Rubio changed the passports so that you can't be transgendered. Either male or female.

3. It takes forever to get your passport. With hundreds of thousands, millions, applying simultaneously, there's a good chance that a lot of voters won't get them by November.

4. Between gas and the tariffs, who has $135 to dedicate for an otherwise free, constitutional right to vote?

sop

(18,389 posts)
5. It's a poll tax.
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 07:30 AM
18 hrs ago

"Poll taxes are unconstitutional and illegal in the United States for all federal, state, and local elections. The 24th Amendment, ratified in January 1964, banned them for federal elections, and the Supreme Court declared them unconstitutional for state/local elections in the 1966 case Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections."

Mr.Bee

(1,786 posts)
24. I don't have a passport
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 12:37 PM
13 hrs ago
and I vote by mail.
This man will do anything to stay out of prison
including starting distraction wars.

Chasstev365

(7,638 posts)
2. Great Catch!
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 06:56 AM
19 hrs ago

Counter point: Americans who have a passport have traveled abroad and tend to be educated. They might be more likely to see when a democracy is slipping away.

Could the SAVE ACT actually eliminate more uneducated Trump voters from being able to vote?

Of course, it should be moot because under the Constitution, states run their own elections, but with this Supreme Court who knows what law is anymore.

blubunyip

(279 posts)
12. Many "uneducated"
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 08:52 AM
17 hrs ago

and non-travelers are smart. This is not the way to handle those who aren't. Snobby elitist point of view that divides us further.

One citizen = one vote.

Address the propaganda machine and all the other fascist mechanisms at work in this corrupt nation.

BannonsLiver

(20,497 posts)
26. Theoretically yes
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 12:48 PM
13 hrs ago

In a lot of maga states, including the shit hole where I reside, the percentage of the population holding a passport is around 15-20 percent.

AleksS

(1,718 posts)
55. That's an interesting thought. I imagine in red states,
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 11:44 PM
2 hrs ago

the portion of the population with passports just might be the blue chunk.

mwmisses4289

(3,914 posts)
3. Ugh. Not at all shocked it's Cornyn.
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 07:04 AM
18 hrs ago

Hopefully, come November, texas voters will do the right thing and retire this dude and send someone better in his place.

Squaredeal

(718 posts)
4. It would disenfranchise married women the most.
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 07:27 AM
18 hrs ago

Those who took the name of their husband, since it doesn’t match their birth certificate. Presentation of a valid marriage certificate, even if one is divorced but kept the ex’s last name, I assume, would be required to help prove citizenship.
Would presentation of adoption records be required to prove citizenship for those individuals who had a different name at birth, even in cases where birth records are sealed by a court?
There seems to be a lot of unanswered questions about the bill, not including the Constitutional challenge that elections are a state, not a federal right.

EuterpeThelo

(315 posts)
17. Infuriating
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 10:02 AM
15 hrs ago

My last name is hyphenated to honor my life partner of 20+ years who I lost to COVID thanks to the weaponized incompetence of this orange sack of oozing, toxic pus. For personal reasons, we never legally married but we did do a handfasting, which, in my eyes, is equally if not even more valid as it doesn't have the expiration date of "til death" attached. Changing my name was in accordance with his wishes. He's been gone almost six years and I still feel a swell of pride every time I write my name, because it was a gift he gave to me (while also retaining same from my dad, whom I also loved fiercely). No way am I dishonoring him by giving that up.

My family has been in the U.S. since 1624 if these jagoffs want to get into "citizenship."

love_katz

(3,247 posts)
50. I have read news reports that say a marriage certificate won't be accepted as ID in the event of a divorce.
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 10:28 PM
3 hrs ago

From what I have read, the certificate has to have an official seal on it to be accepted. Just like getting an official copy of your birth certificate, this takes time and costs money.
Ultimately, this is being done to disinfranchise married women who took their husband's last name at marriage and is designed specifically to suppress the vote before the midterm election. Getting rid of mail in voting and voting machines is also designed to suppress the vote by making it harder for the elderly and disabled people to vote due to having to stand in long lines.

Attilatheblond

(8,747 posts)
34. Spot on! Since more than a couple GOP pols and influencers suggested women should not be able to vote
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 03:51 PM
10 hrs ago

This 'SAVE' act will disenfranchise millions of women while not putting pols who want the 19th Amendment overturned at risk of having their asses handed to them in an election. It would give also give Trump & other rapists in the Epstein some protection from millions of pissed off women voters who want them GONE from government.

The SAVE act only saves Trump from what he so richly deserves while punishing women for wanting to participate in the governance that impacts them, probably more than it impacts men.

slightlv

(7,751 posts)
46. I just had to go through all this for the RealID.
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 09:41 PM
4 hrs ago

It's basically a timeline of your emotional and legal involvement with men. You need not only marriage licenses, but also divorce decrees... just in case you're married to multiples. There's a whole world out there that doesn't fit this tiny square box the republicans have made.

But that brings up a question I've had and no one has answered yet... Is the Real ID going to be proof enough? After all the money and hassle (especially women) have had to go through to get one? I understand what the R's are trying to do... women and minorities tend to vote democratically. They want to deny all of them voting rights. But after pushing this Real ID for so many years and making it absolutely mandatory to have if you want to do anything in the U.S. (number of the beast, xtianists?) are they actually going to tell all those people... sorry... it's not enough proof?

love_katz

(3,247 posts)
53. I have read that RealID won't be accepted as proof of citizenship.
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 10:45 PM
3 hrs ago

I also had to get one because I used to drive commercially and having one was required to renew my CDL for work. I had to order an official copy of my birth certificate, because the copy that the hospital sent home with my parents wasn't accepted as proof of citizenship.
What the Pukes are after is suppression of the vote, especially the votes of women, lower income people and the elderly who are lower income. It's specifically because those groups are more likely to vote for Democrats.
One tiny spot of hope: this could end up biting harder on women who vote for the Pukes, because they are more likely to take their husband's last name at marriage. Women who vote for Democrats tend to be more educated and often keep their last names after marriage. I'm glad that I made that decision when I got married. I've been divorced for over 40 years and am glad that I didn't have to come up with the money for a lawyer and go to court to get my maiden name back. Sadly, many women won't be so lucky.
This is blatantly a poll tax on women. No man will have to provide any proof of citizenship about his last name because of either marriage or divorce.

marybourg

(13,624 posts)
56. It took me 9 months to get my passport because
Sat Mar 14, 2026, 12:13 AM
1 hr ago

i kept my first husband’s name even after remarrying. I had to produce my long form birth certificate, which was very difficult to get, since my father had legally changed his name near the time I was born and I didn’t know which name was on my long form birth certificate, since I had never seen it. I also had to submit my first marriage license. With lots of back and forth and a prohibition against hiring a lawyer to obtain it for you (in N.Y. ) - 9 months.

Lonestarblue

(13,451 posts)
6. This bill is clearly intended to disenfranchise women and minorities since fewer of them vote for Republicans.
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 07:32 AM
18 hrs ago

twodogsbarking

(18,475 posts)
19. Mine too a bit longer. I had to get a new birth certificate. The old ones did not name your parents like the new ones.
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 10:43 AM
15 hrs ago

They already had the information but rules is rules.

uncle ray

(3,346 posts)
30. i prepared and got a fresh new copy, only to be told the old one was actually better!
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 02:05 PM
11 hrs ago

i was worried the seal was barely visible. the nice postal worker said that a new copy would raise more suspicion. whatever, minor inconvenience.

Easterncedar

(6,119 posts)
9. Mainers, heads up! Susan Collins appears to waver on support for the act,
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 08:25 AM
17 hrs ago

According to a reply she sent to a voter friend who contacted her about it. Time to push is now! Call, write and do it again, please!

Easterncedar

(6,119 posts)
23. Hah! Yeah, but her reelection is not so sure this time
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 12:28 PM
13 hrs ago

She might tip over our way if it serves her self-serving purposes. I know she isn't going to stand on principle!!

Scalded Nun

(1,669 posts)
15. Cornyn is worthless garbage
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 09:31 AM
16 hrs ago

Even more desperate now to get his lips closest to Trump's ass to curry favor for his runoff with another Texas idiot Paxton.

He seems to show up in about every pic with Senators, but does not know or do shit for the state or its citizens.

A major reason why we left the state. It is all about self-preservation, the grift, and the power.

They have been in complete power and doing this for 40 years now...and they keep pointing the finger at the dems for why nothing ever improves.

CaptainTruth

(8,173 posts)
16. It seems like this would disenfranchise more Republican voters.
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 09:51 AM
16 hrs ago

Think of all the rural voters who vote GOP, I'll bet the great majority don't have passports.

I've known several Fox-watching straight-R voters who live just a town or two away from where they grew up & have hardly made it out of their state much less the country. Why would they have passports?

slightlv

(7,751 posts)
47. Sounds like the rural midwest, where I live now! Bro and I live within 20 minutes of our hometown.
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 09:47 PM
4 hrs ago

But the only time my brother has been out of country was a high school Band trip to Ontario! He didn't even cross the border for shopping and exploration when I lived near Nuevo Laredo. He DID manage to go to the beach at Corpus, tho... (gryn). Seriously, there's a ton of people who not only don't have passports, but have never been out of this country once. I think that's one of the reasons they're so screwed up when it comes to immigrants... they've never met someone who didn't look and act just like them, so of course they're suspicious of everyone now that they're adults.

I don't have a passport... but I'm a Veteran, and I've made several trips across the borders of our abutting countries, at least. Never was rich enough to go anywhere else, tho... much to my sorrow.

ScratchCat

(2,735 posts)
20. It doesn't require a passport to vote
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 11:45 AM
14 hrs ago

I don't support the SAVE Act, but I don't know where some people are getting this stuff. It would be automatically struck down at the first legal challenge which would happen the day after it was signed into law if it required such a thing.

As long as you had to provide a birth certificate to renew/get your drivers license, that suffices any requirement here. Most people have the new, conforming ID. Durbin is simply incorrect about driver's licenses not qualifying here. This law would not require every American to acquire a passport to vote in the 2026 or 2028 elections. Again, if it did, it would be automatically struck down.

slightlv

(7,751 posts)
48. I wouldn't trust this SCOTUS to strike it down, ScratchCat!
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 09:49 PM
4 hrs ago

After all, the "Founders" saw voting as something that only landed males should be able to do. We've evolved over time, but SCOTUS wants to kill all that progress. I would see this as a perfect case to cancel voting for everyone except men who own property... and knowing this group in this admin, they'd probably set a minimum $$$ amount of the property owned if you want to vote.

No way you can look at it without it being a Poll Tax, in my opinion... but I got a lot of opinions... and generally they don't jive with everyone else's.

patphil

(8,984 posts)
22. From what I have read, this bill will disenfrancise both republicans and Democrats.
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 12:26 PM
13 hrs ago

If a passport is part of the requirement, then poor, rural American citizens may be intentionally discriminated against. Farmers in particular may never have traveled outside the country, so they never saw a need for one.
Also the elderly who may have had a passport at one time, but no longer travel and have let it lapse. My wife and I are in that group, and I've just got my documents for passport renewal together. We'll be starting the process soon.

I haven't gotten any in-depth determination as to which party will lose the most votes, but that may not be the point of it. Perhaps it's the start of a long term restructuring of the voting process that will eventually trim the roles down to a much smaller percentage of citizens being allowed to vote. The smaller the number, the easier it is to control the outcome.

slightlv

(7,751 posts)
49. See my reply above yours...
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 09:51 PM
4 hrs ago

I see it as an attempt to restrict voting to white male, landed property owners only.... much like what they tried in the Founder's days. As "originalist" as this SCOTUS is, I can see them stating that the Constitution does NOT give everyone the right to vote-- only men who own property.

TBF

(36,437 posts)
43. I know it's not all that likely -
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 07:27 PM
6 hrs ago

but at least he's ahead of both primary challengers in the current polls, and that does give me some hope for the fall. It's pretty dismal living down here, so I appreciate when folks are at least kind to democrats down here. People work very hard, even with all the disappointments.

Timewas

(2,726 posts)
28. About 50%
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 01:20 PM
12 hrs ago

Approximately 45–51% of Americans hold a valid passport, with over 170 million active passports in circulation as of 2024–2025. This represents a significant increase from the 1990s, when only about 4–10% held one. Ownership is highest among young adults (53%) and college-educated individuals

So that stops a pretty large portion fo population from voting,ad in the disenfranchising of married women who cannot find both their birth certs. and wedding licenses it does a lot of damage...

SidneyR

(212 posts)
29. Some educated people also don't have passports.
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 01:40 PM
12 hrs ago

Ph.D. here, risen from trailer trash to a graduate degree. That required a ton of work and debt. Paid off student loans at the age of 63. I could never afford to travel. And I am terrified of flying. So no, I have no passport.

Seinan Sensei

(1,518 posts)
31. The problem (ostensibly) is voter fraud
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 02:58 PM
10 hrs ago

Never forget. Always remember -- this is a problem that is NOT a problem

WAPO estimated there were 31 fraudulent votes out of 3 billion (with a "B" ) votes
Fifth Circuit in Texas found 2 convictions of voter fraud out of 2 million votes
Then-Gov Rick Scott went looking for fraud (!) and found 85 non-citizen registrants out of 12 million voters
Iowa -- 27 out of 1.6 million
Kansas - 14 out of 84 million

VOTER-FRAUD IS NOT A PROBLEM

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/debunking-voter-fraud-myth

Jimvanhise

(591 posts)
33. ISN'T PAYING A FEE IN ORDER TO VOTE ILLEGAL?
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 03:43 PM
10 hrs ago

Having to buy a passport in order to qualify to vote would invalidate the Save Act.

Gum Logger

(390 posts)
40. Voting should be mandatory. $40 lazy tax going to the inside the beltway constitutional officer yacht club
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 05:01 PM
8 hrs ago

BlueWaveNeverEnd

(13,965 posts)
44. ..and GOP is already reducing avenues for obtaining passports..ending allowing libraries to assist
Fri Mar 13, 2026, 08:07 PM
5 hrs ago
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