Married women could be blocked from voting in American elections

Married women could beryllium blocked from voting successful US elections aft the House of Representatives passed a measure requiring impervious of citizenship to formed a ballot.

Critics reason the Save (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act, which is intended to halt amerciable immigrants voting, could perchance disenfranchise millions of women who person changed their past name.

The authorities requires radical to contiguous a passport, commencement certificate oregon subject documents truthful they tin registry to vote.

Democrats claimed it would artifact swathes of the electorate from voting due to the fact that millions of American women bash not person a commencement certificate successful their existent ineligible name, portion lone astir 50 per cent of the US colonisation ain a valid passport.

The measure passed the House by a 220-208 ballot connected Thursday with the enactment of each of the chamber’s Republicans and 4 Democrats, but volition not go instrumentality unless it is approved by the Senate.

Legislation ‘restricts entree to the ballot box’

Mark Pocan, a Democrat congressman from Wisconsin, said that “nearly 70 cardinal women” bash not person a commencement certificate matching their ineligible sanction and warned that the authorities “restricts entree to the ballot box”.

Jimmy Gomez, a Los Angeles representative, claimed Republicans who voted for the measure “should beryllium asked wherefore they are opposed to joined women voting”.

“It volition marque it truthful that radical successful this state who person each close to ballot can’t vote, and for nary bully reason,” said Hannah Fried, caput of All Voting is Local, a voting rights organisation.

“We don’t request this hurdle. Only citizens are voting successful this country. We person different checks and balances, and this is conscionable a demonstrably unnecessary portion of legislation.”

White House: Democrats are fearmongering

However, Republicans insisted that joined women would not beryllium disenfranchised due to the fact that the authorities made allowances for citizenship documents, specified arsenic commencement certificates, that had not been updated with sanction changes.

Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, called criticisms of the measure “absurd”.

“What [we’re] trying to bash is support the quality of non-citizens to enactment successful our elections. Plain and simple. That’s what this is about,” helium said this week.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House property secretary, dismissed the criticisms of the “common sense” measure connected Friday.

“The Democrats person been fearmongering astir this bill... saying that joined women, if their sanction has changed, they didn’t alteration it connected their identification, would not beryllium capable to vote,” she said.

“That is implicit fallacy. [It is] outlined successful the measure astir however to debar that.”

She told reporters successful the White House briefing room: “I myself arsenic a joined pistillate would not basal earlier this podium if the president did not enactment specified a common-sense measure.”

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph escaped for 1 period with unlimited entree to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.