The Senate begins debate on the SAVE America Act

Instead of addressing the issues that Americans actually care about, Senate Republicans are spending the next week or more attempting to make it harder to vote.

On Tuesday afternoon the Senate began debating the SAVE America Act, which voting rights advocates describe as the worst voter suppression bill that Congress has seriously considered passing.

Trump calls the bill his “No. 1 priority” and claims it will “guarantee the midterms” for Republicans.

It won’t. The centerpiece of the bill is a “show your papers” requirement mandating proof of citizenship, such as a passport or a birth certificate, to register to vote.

That could impact Republican-leaning constituencies more than Democrats.

The ten states with the lowest levels of passport ownership all voted for Trump. Sixty-nine million women who took their partner’s last name and do not have a birth certificate matching their legal name could find it harder to register to vote under the bill. Republican women are twice as likely as Democrats to change their last name.

And because voters would need provide this documentation in person at an election office, rural voters, who also lean Republican, could be forced to drive up to eight hours to register to vote.