Anne Frank Got It Wrong
Dear Leading Ladies,
Thirteen-year-old Anne Frank, hiding from the Nazis with her family in an attic in Amsterdam, wrote, “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” When I first read her words, I remember being filled with admiration for this young girl — for her courage, her ability to find joy in life as her world grew smaller and her future more bleak. Was it her youth that allowed such hope? Was it naïveté? Was it a kind of magical thinking she invoked?
As we watch and read the news, as we see grown men and women blatantly lie about what they have done or plan to do, Anne Frank’s words seem simple and even foolish, surely not up to today’s task of fighting for truth and justice. And not what we can legitimately teach our young.
We can still do good
What we can teach them, however, is that they can be good. They can love their families, their friends, and their neighbors, and help them when they need help. Imagine my joy when I received a photo of my six-year-old granddaughter and her friend making sandwiches for migrant families living in a nearby shelter.
Two six-year-olds in New York City making sandwiches for migrants living in a shelter. Photo shared with permission.
No, not all people are good at heart. But many of us are. We just need to outnumber the bad guys.
As we’ve been experiencing whiplash trying to keep up with all the assaults on our democracy these past few days, one issue hasn’t hit the news much, but deserves our attention and concern.
The SAVE Act will suppress voters’ rights
In January, Republican Congressmen vowed to fast-track the SAVE bill (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act), which would “require all Americans to provide a birth certificate, passport, or one of a few other citizenship documents every time they register or re-register to vote,” according to the Brennan Center for Justice and NYU Law School. “More than 21 million American citizens don’t have these documents readily available, according to survey data.” And, by the way, for those adults who can find their birth certificates, how many women, due to taking their husbands’ last names, even have their accurate surnames on their birth certificates? It gets even more complicated because the new requirements would not just apply to initial registrations but to every time a voter re-registers or changes addresses or names (such as after marriage). Consequently, if enacted, the bill “would devastate voter registration while disenfranchising tens of millions of eligible American citizens,” since “tens of millions of Americans register or re-register between every federal election.”
With the requirement to present citizenship papers in person, SAVE would essentially cut off at the knees registration by mail, voter registration drives, online voter registration, and automatic voter registration. Reportedly, copies or electronic records of citizenship will not be accepted. Change of address may require in-person updating for voter registration as well. Also, third party nonprofits will no longer be able to register voters. “The SAVE Act would effectively be the end of all third party voter registration drives,” explains nonprofitvote.org. “Since only a government official can review and accept the proof of citizenship, third party groups like ours would no longer be able to collect voter registration forms.” That will hold true for Leading Ladies and our voter registration drives in area high schools. The end of registration by mail, online, and by third party nonprofits will not only decrease accessibility for millions; it will also overwork election workers and cause long lines and discouraging waits.
And let’s just guess who will be affected most?
“More than nine percent of American voting-age citizens, or 21.3 million people, don’t have a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers readily available,” according to a survey conducted by the Brennan Center and partners. “Voters of color, voters who change their names (most notably, married women), and younger voters would be most significantly affected.” A Real ID would not be acceptable, nor would military IDs, without accompanying documentation like a birth certificate, according to nonprofitvote.org.
What can we do?
Write to your legislator at voteriders.org or nonprofitvote.org to tell them to vote against the bill. Find your members of Congress here. And talk to your friends, families, colleagues, and others. Encourage them to contact their legislators as well.
Let’s be good. Anne would expect no less.
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team