Dexter Forces Vote to Expose GOP Attacks on Women’s Access to Ballot Box in Legislative Maneuver
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Maxine Dexter, M.D. (OR-03) forced a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives requiring Republicans to defend their anti-woman, voter suppression bill, the SAVE Act. Under the guise of election integrity, the SAVE Act would penalize millions of women just for taking their spouse's last name, requiring additional documentation to exercise their constitutional right to vote. Dexter offered an amendment, voted on under a procedural tool known as the “Previous Question,” that would have required state-level certification that the law’s new requirements would not prevent eligible married women from casting their ballots.
“The SAVE Act isn’t about preventing fraud, it’s about preventing participation in our elections,” Dexter said. “That’s why I demanded that House Republicans adopt my amendment to give assurances that married women who change their last name will not be shut out of the ballot box. This amendment isn’t a theoretical, it’s about the married woman in Hood River whose documents don’t match after changing her name. It’s about making sure our democracy includes all of us. And House Republicans voted it down.”
Dexter also introduced seven additional amendments—each one blocked by Republicans—that would have required states to ensure the bill’s provisions would not disenfranchise:
- Military service members
- People of color
- Native communities
- Survivors of domestic violence
- Seniors
- People with disabilities
- Rural residents
The amendments were cosponsored by: Reps. Henry C. (“Hank”) Johnson, Jr., Johnny Olszewski, Emanuel Cleaver, II, Vincente Gonzalez, Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, and Shri Thanedar.
Dexter spoke on the House floor. You can listen to the full remarks here.