BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – State officials have said a controversial election security bill in Congress wouldn’t impact North Dakota, but some voting rights advocates in the state raise concerns that it could make it more difficult for some people to vote.
The SAVE America Act would require voters to present valid photo ID to vote in federal elections, and proof of citizenship to register.
The proposal has broad support among Republicans, including North Dakota’s congressional delegation. Critics oppose the bill on the grounds that it would expand federal control over elections and could make it harder for some to vote. It’s currently being debated in the Senate.
The legislation includes an exemption for North Dakota since it’s the only state without voter registration, though it would still require North Dakota to have a system for verifying the citizenship of its voters. The SAVE America Act doesn’t say anything about what this process must look like.
North Dakota already has such a process for validating voters’ citizenship. However, there are some ways in which North Dakota’s system is different from the one the SAVE America Act would have other states implement.
“We cannot answer how the federal government would determine if our system is satisfactory,” North Dakota Deputy Secretary of State Sandy McMerty said in a statement to the North Dakota Monitor.
The agency’s interpretation is that North Dakota’s process would be acceptable under the proposal, she said.
The North Dakota Department of Transportation verifies people’s citizenship status when it issues driver’s licenses and non-driver identification, and this data is automatically shared with the Secretary of State’s Office. The documents the state uses to check citizenship are also accepted as proof of citizenship under the proposed SAVE America Act.
But the SAVE America Act would put the responsibility on voters to provide proof of citizenship to election officials in-person.
While the North Dakota Secretary of State Office’s central voter file knows people’s citizenship status, this information is not displayed on all state-issued IDs. North Dakota driver’s licenses and non-driver IDs do state if someone is not a citizen.
In North Dakota, newly naturalized citizens must update their IDs before voting. However, if they show up at the polls without updated ID, they cannot be turned away under state law. Their ballots are set aside so their eligibility may be verified later.
The SAVE America Act would also require all voters to provide photo ID at the polls. North Dakota accepts two kinds of non-photo ID: tribal letters and certificates issued by long-term care facilities.
The League of Women Voters of North Dakota President Kathy Tweeten questioned whether the federal government would consider these aspects of North Dakota’s voting process adequate if the SAVE America Act passes.
“This bill is unnecessary and makes it harder to vote when it’s already illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in federal or state elections,” Tweeten said in a letter published last week.
North Dakota Native Vote in a February statement said the legislation could create barriers to voting access for tribal citizens across the country. Many tribal IDs don’t state place of birth or citizenship, and many tribal members live in rural areas, the organization said.
Opponents of the SAVE America Act have also expressed concerns that the law would make voting harder for people who have changed their names, like some married women. They warn that it will be difficult for people to prove their citizenship if their current name doesn’t match what’s written on all of their documents.
Right now, name changes don’t cause issues for North Dakota voters, McMerty said. The Secretary of State’s Office isn’t notified when people legally change their names with state courts. So even if a voter has a new name and shows up to the polls without an updated ID, they would still be able to vote, she said.
“You are still who you are even after you’re married, so just because you’re voting with your maiden name doesn’t make it wrong,” she said.
The bill comes as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks more federal control over elections. Under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, elections are primarily regulated by states.
Noncitizen voting is rare and prohibited under federal law. A 2017 study by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University that analyzed voting in 42 U.S. jurisdictions in the 2016 election found about 30 incidents of voting by noncitizens out of roughly 23.5 million votes.
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