LETTER: He has questions about SAVE act; Congress reps are no help

To Ozaukee Press:

Recently I wrote to all three of my U.S. Congress members—Glenn Grothman,

Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson—with multiple questions and concerns about the SAVE America Act currently in the Senate:

My concern with the act’s impact on absentee voting, especially with the law planned to be in force immediately if it passes.

Assurance that the current REAL ID system can be used to verify citizenship (my current REAL ID shows no indication of my citizenship status, and Wisconsin’s DOT website says non-citizens can obtain a REAL ID).

Will additional costs to citizens because of the act (for example, obtaining certified copies of birth certificates) be covered by the government?

How much will the act cost taxpayers?

Why is a national ID system not being proposed as a method of identification and citizenship verification, especially considering the insecurity of using Social Security numbers as identification.

Grothman responded to my initial message with an email that did not address any of my questions. I sent a second message reiterating my questions and concerns, and have been waiting over four weeks without a response.

Baldwin responded with a longer email that only partially addressed one of my multiple questions. Johnson has not responded to my message at all, three weeks after sending my questions.

I am very concerned with the lackluster or nonexistent response from my representatives, especially on a topic as important to our democracy as voting. I would still encourage anyone with questions, concerns or feedback to contact your representatives, as that is the only way they can know what is important to you.

Andrew Hrlevich

Belgium