It’s over folks. All I can be glad about is that escape from this fleshy core beckons as a light at the end of the tunnel projected from the train ushering me into oblivion. My only real solace is in knowing that the end of my days is on the rapidly approaching horizon providing some respite in the hope of avoiding the worsening of this ever increasing authoritarian dystopia.
Things here in my state, Arizona, have been a shitshow over this proof of citizenship requirement for voter registration for years. Back in 2004 (I think?), AZ made it mandatory to provide such proof to register but the federal government sued claiming this requirement violated federal requirements. AZ partially lost this case but it still allowed the requirements for state and local elections creating tiers of voters who could vote in both state and federal elections and those that could only vote in federal elections.
About a year or two ago, Arizona discovered a snafu in their record keeping dependent on when a voter registered and when their driving license was issued and 218,000 registered voters were notified by mail they had 30 days to provide proof of citizenship or they would receive federal ballots only and be ineligible to vote in state elections.
Longtime Arizona voters forced to reprove citizenship due to MVD glitch
Number of voters affected by MVD citizenship proof ‘glitch’ grows to 218,000
Information of 218K voters impacted by registration error to be released by Arizona Secretary of State
I was one of the 218,000 that received one of these letters demanding proof of citizenship because I changed my registration in 2020 when I moved. I’ve been licensed to drive in AZ since 1971 and my license has been renewed several times before 1996 and didn’t expire until I turned 65. I also renewed my license at 65 and I’ve been registered to vote for decades..
Of the 218,000 voters contacted only about 20,000 supplied the requested documentation.
This has been going back and forth in the courts for years. Most recently the GOP sought to invalidate the registrations of 1.7 million Arizona voters including the 218,000 affected by the record keeping error. At the end of February of this year the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Arizona’s Proof of Citizenship Requirement for Voter Registration.
Federal election law requires under penalty of perjury when registering to vote you state that you are a U.S. citizen and while popular opinion believes many non-US citizens are being allowed to vote, widespread proof of this simply doesn’t exist. This recent court ruling brings Arizona’s requirements back in line with Federal requirements.
When I received the letter requesting proof of citizenship, I did not respond because for me that was especially cumbersome so I expected to receive a follow-up letter disqualifying me from voting in state elections which never came. With this recent court ruling, Arizona’s additional requirements are now invalid. I just checked online with the county recorder’s office and my voter registration is still active and valid.
Should the SAVE Act pass, which is a solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist except in the minds of conspiracy theorists, I will not be able to vote at all. Not that it really matters anyway but the illusion that my vote means something holds significance even if it is actually worthless.
I will be ineligible and compliance under provisions of the SAVE Act will prove to be problematic for women who have married and changed their last name or anyone whose name doesn’t match their birth certificate. Both of these conditions affect me and documentation proof of name change either through legal means or marriage aren’t listed as acceptable forms of identification.
My parents legally changed my name when I was a minor and had the records sealed by the court. In order for me to access those records, I would need to hire legal counsel and appeal to the court which I have no desire or the funds to do. If I could, I would at least have some link to my original Ohio birth certificate but that’s even more problematic. This and the fact I changed my last name when I got married has prevented me from ever having a passport or obtaining a RealID so under the current provisions of the SAVE Act I will be unable to ever vote again.
I guess that’s okay? My existence has been invalidated by executive order anyway so f*ck all this shit.
Things here in my state, Arizona, have been a shitshow over this proof of citizenship requirement for voter registration for years. Back in 2004 (I think?), AZ made it mandatory to provide such proof to register but the federal government sued claiming this requirement violated federal requirements. AZ partially lost this case but it still allowed the requirements for state and local elections creating tiers of voters who could vote in both state and federal elections and those that could only vote in federal elections.
About a year or two ago, Arizona discovered a snafu in their record keeping dependent on when a voter registered and when their driving license was issued and 218,000 registered voters were notified by mail they had 30 days to provide proof of citizenship or they would receive federal ballots only and be ineligible to vote in state elections.
Longtime Arizona voters forced to reprove citizenship due to MVD glitch
Number of voters affected by MVD citizenship proof ‘glitch’ grows to 218,000
Information of 218K voters impacted by registration error to be released by Arizona Secretary of State
I was one of the 218,000 that received one of these letters demanding proof of citizenship because I changed my registration in 2020 when I moved. I’ve been licensed to drive in AZ since 1971 and my license has been renewed several times before 1996 and didn’t expire until I turned 65. I also renewed my license at 65 and I’ve been registered to vote for decades..
Of the 218,000 voters contacted only about 20,000 supplied the requested documentation.
This has been going back and forth in the courts for years. Most recently the GOP sought to invalidate the registrations of 1.7 million Arizona voters including the 218,000 affected by the record keeping error. At the end of February of this year the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Arizona’s Proof of Citizenship Requirement for Voter Registration.
Federal election law requires under penalty of perjury when registering to vote you state that you are a U.S. citizen and while popular opinion believes many non-US citizens are being allowed to vote, widespread proof of this simply doesn’t exist. This recent court ruling brings Arizona’s requirements back in line with Federal requirements.
When I received the letter requesting proof of citizenship, I did not respond because for me that was especially cumbersome so I expected to receive a follow-up letter disqualifying me from voting in state elections which never came. With this recent court ruling, Arizona’s additional requirements are now invalid. I just checked online with the county recorder’s office and my voter registration is still active and valid.
Should the SAVE Act pass, which is a solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist except in the minds of conspiracy theorists, I will not be able to vote at all. Not that it really matters anyway but the illusion that my vote means something holds significance even if it is actually worthless.
I will be ineligible and compliance under provisions of the SAVE Act will prove to be problematic for women who have married and changed their last name or anyone whose name doesn’t match their birth certificate. Both of these conditions affect me and documentation proof of name change either through legal means or marriage aren’t listed as acceptable forms of identification.
My parents legally changed my name when I was a minor and had the records sealed by the court. In order for me to access those records, I would need to hire legal counsel and appeal to the court which I have no desire or the funds to do. If I could, I would at least have some link to my original Ohio birth certificate but that’s even more problematic. This and the fact I changed my last name when I got married has prevented me from ever having a passport or obtaining a RealID so under the current provisions of the SAVE Act I will be unable to ever vote again.
I guess that’s okay? My existence has been invalidated by executive order anyway so f*ck all this shit.
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.