Saving the SAVE Act — this one change can fix the American voting system 

For months, voter identification and proof of citizenship have been debated not only as policy proposals but as constitutional questions. Republicans argue that verifying voter eligibility is essential to election integrity. Democrats respond that such requirements risk disenfranchising voters. The SAVE Act represents the most direct federal effort to address that debate, by requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register for federal elections. 

I support the core premise behind the SAVE Act. American citizens should decide federal elections. Supporting that premise, however, does not eliminate the responsibility to evaluate the constitutional structure surrounding it.

My hesitation in fully endorsing the SAVE Act stems from the 24th Amendment and the legal implications of how verification is implemented. The 24th Amendment prohibits poll taxes in federal elections. If registering to vote requires documentary proof of citizenship, and obtaining that documentation requires payment — whether for a certified birth certificate, a passport or a REAL ID — the government risks attaching a financial condition to voting.

Even relatively small administrative fees raise constitutional concerns when they function as mandatory prerequisites to ballot access. The relevant legal question is not whether documentation is reasonable, but whether any cost associated with it operates as a condition on a constitutionally protected right.

Americans must present identification to open bank accounts, apply for SNAP benefits, enroll in Medicaid or Medicare, rent housing, secure employment, or board commercial flights. Identification functions as a baseline requirement across nearly every aspect of modern civic and economic life, a reality often overlooked by........

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