Celebrating suffragists and trying to disenfranchise women? That takes some cognitive dissonance

There’s not much room in my life for people who don’t love “The Wire.” And yes, I used present tense in reference to a television show that aired its final episode 17 years ago.

Just hear me out.

This “Star Wars” fan has made room in his life for “Star Trek” loved ones. This lover of Marvel Comics has gone to see D.C. movies. I’m all for personal growth and making compromises … but if you don’t believe “The Wire” is the greatest television show in the history of television shows, we can’t break bread. A man has got to have a code.

For some longtime Clippers fans, that code includes never rooting for the Lakers. There are folks who have sworn off a particular restaurant in their community or one of the national retail stores. Perhaps there’s a state we swear we will never visit. Our code — as Omar Little, one of the characters from “The Wire,” frames it — is the compass we follow in life. Laws are meant to shape a society and religion guides our faith; however, how we truly move in this world is defined by the code we’ve written for ourselves.

When it comes to Congress, the stakes are often much higher than in the worlds of sports and entertainment.

When the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act) was first introduced in the House in May 2024, it was under the guise of ensuring that only U.S. citizens were able to vote in our elections. Republicans argued that because immigrants are able to secure a driver’s license regardless of immigration status, those licenses could be used to vote. Keep in mind the mass voter fraud conspiracy theory was first debunked back in 2018 by the voting integrity commission the Trump administration created.

Besides, the sponsors of the SAVE Act know it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in this country. This policy was not born out of a pressing public need. This was politics. By using the optics of the migrant crisis in the border cities of Eagle Pass and El Paso, this act provided a way to criticize the Biden administration’s immigration policies through insinuation without evidence — and also a way to suppress voting.

The proposed new law would require voters to present a passport (which documents U.S. citizenship and identity) or a U.S. birth certificate and a photo ID with a name that matches it (or a chain of paperwork documenting the name changes between birth and a person’s current legal name). The bill passed in July 2024 mostly along party lines, with five Democrats siding with 216 Republicans.

Among those Democrats was Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, whose official biography includes the line “as one of eight children born to migrant farm workers in Laredo, Texas.” That’s not meant to shame Cuellar as much as highlight the complexity of the immigration issue. Publicity stunts like the SAVE Act are counterproductive, and yet Cuellar’s “yay” vote is understandable. I’ve lived in Arizona and Texas through a handful of elections, and I get that it’s difficult for Democrats to get elected in these border states without breaking with progressives in Washington on immigration.

A man has got to have a code.

Cuellar’s votes on the SAVE Act apparently reflect his.

The same can be said of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who in 2014 became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress and who proudly reminds those who visit her website that she “authored and passed the Women’s Commemorative Coin Act.” Signed into law in 2019 by President Trump, the legislation celebrated a diverse group of suffrage activists — from Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Harriet Tubman and Ida B. Wells — who fought for equal voting rights and full inclusion in the democratic process. The law’s text makes clear the legislation was in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which granted women the right to vote. The act says women’s rights are linked “directly to the founding ideals of the United States.”

And yet, Stefanik’s name is also attached to the SAVE Act, which threatens the integrity of the 19th Amendment. The legislation would disproportionately disenfranchise women, who are more likely to change their last names when they marry or divorce and so often have a photo ID that does not match their birth certificate.

Providing documentation for name changes can be a challenge. Maybe you have all your important paperwork in order. Many people do — until they don’t. Think back to when Hurricane Helene, one of the costliest and deadliest storms since Katrina, struck the Atlantic Coast just weeks before the 2024 election. More than 70,000 homes were damaged in North Carolina alone — countless pictures, keepsakes, important documents like birth certificates lost forever. That’s not a conspiracy theory. That’s just what happened.

Even under ideal circumstances, it can take months and cost hundreds of dollars to get official replacements for lost documents. But voter registration often must be done a month or more before election day. The SAVE Act is a recipe for many people, especially women, to be shut out of elections. In the midst of natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires or floods, a woman’s right to vote should not be among the things she loses.

When you consider Americans need only a driver’s license to buy a gun, to see conservatives draft legislation requiring more documentation to vote tells you which constitutional right they view as most dangerous.

Everybody has to have a code.

Some elected officials — like Cuellar and Stefanik supporting the SAVE Act — apparently also learn to code switch.

@LZGranderson