Explaining The SAVE Act

>> LAST WEEK GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS SIGNED A BILL INTO LAW THAT WILL REQUIRE VOTERS IN FLORIDA TO SHOW PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP BEFORE THEY CAN REGISTER TO VOTE. THE FLORIDA LEGISLATION IS MODELED AFTER THE FEDERAL SAVE AMERICA ACT THAT REMAINS STALLED IN CONGRESS. THE SAME DAY THE GOVERNOR SIGNED THE MEASURE INTO LAW. VOTING RIGHTS GROUPS AND OTHERS FILED LEGAL CHALLENGES ARGUING THAT THE LAW IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. JOINING ME NOW FOR AN EXPLANATION OF WHAT IS CURRENTLY GOING ON WITH THIS LAW AND HOW IT WILL IMPACT US IN FLORIDA IS WGCU HOST AND REPORTER JOHN DAVIS. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. JOHN. OF COURSE, THE SUPPORTERS OF THIS MEASURE SAY THEIR WHOLE ENTIRE GOAL IS TO PREVENT ELECTION FRAUD AND PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE ELECTION PROCESS. WHAT DOES THE LAW ACTUALLY DO? >> SO THIS WOULD REQUIRE ALL VOTERS TO PRESENT A PASSPORT OR BIRTH CERTIFICATE OR SIMILAR DOCUMENT IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO REGISTER TO VOTE. THEY'RE CURRENTLY, YOU KNOW, SOME 21 MILLION AMERICANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING THOUSANDS OF FLORIDIANS WHO DON'T HAVE READY ACCESS TO THESE DOCUMENTS. SO THAT IS ONE CONCERN THE BILL WOULD ELIMINATE. STUDENT ID'S AS AN ACCEPTABLE FORM OF ID TO REGISTER TO VOTE. AND IT ELIMINATES COMMUNITY ID'S AS AN ACCEPTABLE FORM OF IDENTIFICATION TO VOTE. SO THAT'S KIND OF BROAD THAT COVERS LIKE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION ID'S RETIREMENT COMMUNITY ID'S. AND SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, SENIORS WHO MAYBE HAVEN'T KEPT UP WITH THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT DRIVING ANYMORE, WOULD TYPICALLY USE. AND THOSE WOULD NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE TO THEM. FLORIDA'S LAW ALSO, INTERESTINGLY REQUIRES CANDIDATES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE TO DISCLOSE WHETHER THEY HAVE DUAL CITIZENSHIP AND TO THIS CLOSE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER AS IN THEIR FEDERAL POSITIONS THEY INTEND TO TRADE STOCKS WHILE IN OFFICE. SO THAT'S KIND OF AN INTERESTING OFFICER. THAT'S NOT THE MAIN POINT OF THESE LAWSUITS. BUT I JUST I THOUGHT WAS INTERESTING WAS VERY INTERESTING. BILL. THE GOVERNOR SIGNED THIS LAW AND IMMEDIATELY VOTING RIGHTS GROUPS AND THEY THEY'RE FILING LEGAL CHALLENGES. >> WHAT'S WHAT'S BEHIND THEIR ARGUMENTS AGAINST THIS? SO THEIR ARGUMENTS ROOM AND THEN THERE'S 2, ONE IS FILED IN THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA AND A SECOND LAWSUIT IS FILED IN THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA. >> BUT BOTH OF THEIR ARGUMENTS ARE ROOTED IN WHAT THEY ALLEGE ARE VIOLATIONS OF THE FIRST AND 14TH AMENDMENT. SO THE FIRST AMENDMENT, OF COURSE, PROTECTS FREE SPEECH AND ASSOCIATION, INCLUDING POLITICAL PARTICIPATION. SO THEY'RE ARGUING THAT VOTING, YOU KNOW, IS A FORM OF POLITICAL EXPRESSION. THERE'S PRECEDENT HERE. COURTS HAVE RECOGNIZED THE PARTICIPATING IN ELECTIONS IS TIED TO CORE POLITICAL SPEECH AND ASSOCIATION. AND, YOU KNOW, THEY SAY THAT IT COULD RESTRICT OR CHILL VOTER PARTICIPATION. SO FOR THE 14TH AMENDMENT, THEIR ARGUMENT THERE IS THAT THIS LAW VIOLATES THE DUE PROCESS CLAUSE BECAUSE IT MAY CREATE BARRIERS WITHOUT SUFFICIENT JUSTIFICATION LIKE THESE COMPLEX ID REQUIREMENTS. ALSO, THERE IS CONCERN OVER CONFUSING OR INCONSISTENT ENFORCEMENT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE GOING TO BE SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHICS WHO ARE GOING TO BE MORE ADVERSELY IMPACT. AND SPEAKING OF THOSE DEMOGRAPHICS. >> MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE'S CONCERN THAT THERE'S REALLY 2 GROUPS THAT WILL BE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY THIS LAW. COLLEGE STUDENTS AND SENIOR CITIZENS PLACE THAT WE HAVE. THAT'S AN INTERESTING ONE. I DIDN'T THINK MUCH OF THIS AT FIRST WHEN I FIRST READ MICHAEL, IF YOU CAN'T USE A COLLEGE. >> STUDENT ID LIKE WHY WOULD THAT BE A BIG DEAL? WHY WOULDN'T YOU JUST USED A PURE DRIVER'S LICENSE? THERE WAS A STUDY FROM PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE COMPANY THAT LOOKING AT FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION DATA SHOWED THAT 80% OF 18 YEAR-OLDS IN THE U.S. HAD DRIVERS LICENSES IN THE EARLY 1980'S BY 2022, THAT WAS DOWN TO 59%. SO IT'S JUST KIND OF A CHANGE IN DEMOGRAPHICS. YOU KNOW, GETTING THAT DRIVER'S LICENSES IS NOT THE COVETED GOLD HAD THEM FOR TEENAGERS OF OUR GENERATION. AND SO THIS COULD, YOU KNOW, CREATE AN INTERESTING BARRIER FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS. IT IMAGINES OUT OF STATE COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO WANT TO VOTE IN LOCAL ELECTIONS WHERE THEY LIVE IN FLORIDA. NOW THEY MIGHT NEED TO GET A STATE ISSUED ID AND FLORIDA JUST TO BE ABLE TO VOTE. AND OF COURSE, A PASSPORT GETTING ISSUED. A STATE ISSUED ID. YOU KNOW, ALL THESE THINGS, COST MONEY AND TAKE TIME. AS FAR AS SENIORS, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THIS SOUNDS ODD, BUT THERE ARE SOME OLDER FOLKS WHO WERE BORN AT HOME AND MAY NOT ACTUALLY HAVE A BIRTH CERTIFICATE. AND AS I STATED EARLIER, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DO GET OLDER AND DRIVING IS NO LONGER ON THE TABLE, KEEPING UP WITH YOUR STATE ISSUE, DRIVER'S LICENSES AND SO MUCH A PRIORITY. SO THESE HAVE BEEN FORMS OF ID THEY'VE USED IN THE PAST THAT THERE ARE NOW NO LONGER BE ABLE TO JUST CREATES MORE HURDLES. I KNOW MY SON GOT HIS DRIVER'S LICENSE AT AGE 20. >> SPEAKING TO YOUR POINT. SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY DON'T THINK ABOUT WITH THE CURRENT GENERATION, BUT IT COULD DEFINITELY PRESENT A CHALLENGE. THIS IS AIMED AT PREVENTING VOTER FRAUD. WHAT ARE THE INSTANCES OF VOTER FRAUD? DO YOU HAVE ANY STATS ON THAT OR INFORMATION ABOUT THAT? YOU KNOW, WE DO SO THERE. THERE'S KIND OF 3 MAIN TYPES OF VOTER FRAUD. THE FIRST IS EXTREMELY WHERE TO THE POINT OF BEING ALMOST NONEXISTENT. AND THIS IS, YOU KNOW, MAIL BALLOT FRAUD TAMPERING WITH ABSENTEE BALLOTS IS VERY RARE AS WELL. DOUBLE VOTING. THAT'S WHERE SOMEONE REGISTERS IN VOTES IN 2 DIFFERENT PLACES. THIS IS THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF VOTER FRAUD. BUT AGAIN, IT'S STILL QUITE RARE. THE BIG PICTURE, AS YOU KNOW, U.S. ELECTIONS INVOLVED TENS OF MILLIONS OF VOTES AND CONFIRMED FRAUD CASES ARE TYPICALLY IN THE DOZEN TO A FEW 100, YOU KNOW, NOT THOUSANDS OR MILLIONS SO STATISTICALLY, THIS REALLY ISN'T CONSIDERED A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM BECAUSE WHILE IT DOES EXIST EXIST, IT'S SUCH SMALL LEVELS THAT IT IT'S NOT IMPACTING THE RESULTS OF ELECTIONS. THERE WAS A MAJOR STUDY FROM THE BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE THAT FOUND 3.10, THOUSANDS OF A PERCENT. 2 POINT '02, 5%, OF BALLOTS INVOLVED INVOLVE SUSPECTED FRAUD. SO IN SHORT, YOU'RE STATISTICALLY MORE LIKELY TO BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING THAN YOU ARE TO ENCOUNTER A VOTER FOR. OH, MY GOODNESS. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH, JOHN, FOR EXPLAINING US TODAY. THANKS.