DelBene, Hobbs Host Live Conversation about Efforts to Restrict Voting Nationwide, Mail-in Ballots in WA

Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs hosted an Instagram Live conversation about Republican efforts to make it difficult to vote and how they will impact voters in Washington state.

President Trump and Republicans in Congress are trying to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require Americans to provide a passport or birth certificate to vote, documents that are expensive and time-consuming to get. In Washington, voters would have to submit a copy of these documents when they return their ballots. Women who are married or have changed their names would be disproportionately impacted and need to provide additional documentation to vote. The bill also would share sensitive voter roll information with the Department of Homeland Security. DelBene voted against the bill when Republicans in the House passed it recently.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case brought by Republican campaign operatives that would severely limit mail-in voting. The case, Watson v. Republican National Committee, could prohibit ballots postmarked by Election Day but received after from being counted. One-in-three ballots in Washington were mailed in the 2024 election. 127,000 of them were postmarked but received after Election Day. This is just one of several cases that conservatives have brought to make it harder for Americans to vote.

"The SAVE America Act would make it harder for legal voters to cast their ballots. Conservative groups have also launched multiple court battles, including one to severely limit vote-by-mail. These are all attempts to silence millions of voices across our state and the country," said DelBene.

"The bill would be very devastating…everyone has to have a copy of their ID, and that has to be included in the ballot as you send it in," said Hobbs.

Hobbs mentioned several barriers voters would face in obtaining the appropriate documentation in order to be registered, which could disproportionately affect rural communities and seniors.

"That's the thing that people are not thinking about, these added barriers that the Republicans are putting up," Hobbs added.

The conversation can be watched here.