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You may have heard, the Republican-controlled Congress, with no restraints on them, high on the steroids of Trump, and justifying themselves with endlessly repeated lies of “illegals” voting, has finally accomplished their decades-long dream of voter suppression with the nightmarish “SAVE ACT.” Our county registrar, and our Secretary of State, both responded yesterday:
SANTA ANA, CA – April 10, 2025
From purely an election administrative point of view if the SAVE Act becomes law of the United States, the cost of assisting voters who would be required to provide documentary proof of citizenship in person every time they register or update their voter registration could exceed $6 million annually for the County of Orange Registrar of Voters.
This initial cost analysis is based on the number of Orange County voter-initiated new registration and registration update transactions that were completed online or by mail in 2024.
In 2024, we received 633,568 voter-initiated online and mail registration transactions. There were 250 County workdays in 2024. So, that would mean, we would have had to serve an average of 2,534.272 voters each day in our office.
Assuming each voter could have been served in 10 minutes (to scan a copy of the voter’s documentary proof of citizenship, to verify the proof, and to update the voter’s record), we would have needed 59 additional staff members in our office (57 to process and 2 to supervise) just focused on serving these voters providing proof of citizenship at a labor cost of more than $4.7 million.
The math: If 10 minutes to serve one voter during a 9-hour day (8a-5p) with each employee working 7.5 hours (two 15-minute breaks and a one-hour lunch during the nine-hour day), then… 2,534.272 per day ÷ 7.5 hours worked by each employee ÷ 6 voters served per hour = 56.317 employees plus 2 supervisors.
In addition to this initial labor cost estimate, we would expect to have cost impacts associated with:
- leasing workspace for each new employee would be $93,000 per month or $1,116,000 annually (County space standard – 175 square foot per employee at $3 per square foot monthly for OC office space)
- buying cubicles and furniture would be $354,000 as a one-time cost ($6,000 per employee)
- buying computers, scanners, and telephone equipment
- hiring and training of additional customer service representatives to work in Vote Centers during elections to assist new voters who register conditionally to vote provisionally (same day registration and voting) who would be required to show documentary proof of citizenship to vote
Will Congress appropriate the funds local and state elections officials need to implement the SAVE Act?
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Also yesterday, the California Secretary of State released this:
Sacramento, Calif. – California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., voiced her concerns about the federally proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act), noting it would make it harder for all eligible voters to cast their votes and participate in our democracy.
H.R. 22 / S. 128, the SAVE Act, would dismantle the way all 50 states register voters, effectively excluding millions of American citizens, including millions of eligible California voters, from being able to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
“Proponents of this act erroneously claim it will stop non-citizens from voting by requiring everyone registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship,” noted Secretary Weber. “The reality is, if this act is passed, the country will be turning its back on decades of voting advancements that expanded access to the ballot box.”
The SAVE Act would:
• Create barriers for millions of voters, including the more than 26.5 million eligible California voters, by forcing all Americans to provide their citizenship status in person, when registering to vote, and each time they update their voter registration information. Millions of eligible American voters do not have a valid passport. Millions of eligible American voters who have taken their spouse’s surname do not have a birth certificate they could use to prove their identity. And more than 21 million United States citizens of voting age do not have proof of citizenship readily available.
• Target traditionally unserved and underserved populations: Voters of color, naturalized citizens, young and older voters, members of our armed forces, and individuals with low incomes would face the most difficult hurdles to exercising their constitutional right to vote.
• Burden election administration by imposing unrealistic, costly, and unnecessary requirements on state and local elections officials and threaten them with fines and jail time for doing their jobs.
Existing law already prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal and state elections, and voters are already required to provide election officials with information necessary to verify their identity and eligibility to vote.
“We must encourage voter participation. The SAVE Act is the Suppressing America Voters Act and will do nothing but harm voters, elections officials, and our democracy. Congress must reject it.”
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“Congress must reject it” – ah, that ship sailed yesterday.
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