The White House on Friday called out the “myth” that the recently passed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, could prevent married women from voting if they change their last name.
“This act is a commonsense measure that would require proof of citizenship for voting in our elections,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
“The Democrats have been fearmongering about this bill,” she continued. “They have been saying that married women if their name has changed and they didn’t change it on their identification, would not be able to vote. That is a complete fallacy.”
Reporter: “What assurances can you give [married] women voters in America to ease their concerns [regarding the new SAVE Act]?”
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Karoline Leavitt: “That is a myth that has been proven wrong by the texts of this bill… Certainly, I myself, as a married woman, would not stand… pic.twitter.com/0LavAbfIlp
Four Democrats joined all House Republicans on Thursday to pass the bill, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. While Democrats said such measures are unnecessary because noncitizen voting is extremely rare, Republicans said they are needed for election integrity purposes.
However, Democrats and other critics also raised concerns that the bill could disenfranchise married women who take their spouse’s name because their last name would no longer match their birth certificate.
Leavitt flatly rejected those concerns.
“The president [Donald Trump] very much supports a commonsense solution to ensure that only citizens can engage in our elections,” Leavitt said. “This is critical to improving the integrity of our elections, and also the trust that American citizens need to have in our electoral process … and that [accusation] is a myth that is proven wrong by the text of this bill.”
Leavitt pointed out that she is married but has not adopted her husband’s last name.
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“Certainly, I myself, as a married woman, would not stand before this podium if the president did not support such a commonsense measure,” she said.
The bill will now go to the Senate, where at least seven Democrats must sign on for it to become law.
