Mr. Lawler: Cordiality Isn’t Enough

March 22, 2026

To: The Editor, The Hudson Independent:

I recently wrote to our Member of Congress, Mike Lawler, in opposition to the so-called Save America Act, a blatant attempt to disenfranchise whole groups of voters by requiring a birth certificate or passport in order to register to vote. Mr. Lawler’s response was quite cordial, but it failed to address the difficulties the proposed law would present to those without a passport or whose birth certificate does not reflect a person’s married name.

This bill is a solution to a non-existent problem. Even the conservative Heritage Foundation has found that there have been only 99 cases of non-citizen voting in all Federal elections since 2000. The actual purpose of the bill is to disadvantage low income voters and women, both groups that traditionally support Democratic candidates. The President has explicitly stated that without the SAVE Act, his party is likely to lose the mid-term elections.

In Mr. Lawler’s letter, he indicated that states will “establish a process for anyone with name discrepancies on their documentation or without proper documentation to register to vote.” Does he really believe that the Republican leaders of Texas or Alabama can be trusted to create such a process? We should be making it easier for Americans to vote, not subjecting them to a “process” in order to overcome unnecessary roadblocks to exercising this most fundamental democratic right.

Mr. Lawler, you are an accomplished politician, and I appreciate your answering my letter. However, cordiality doesn’t get you very far when your facts are wrong and your arguments are flawed.

Claire Cifaloglio

Croton-on-Hudson