Editor’s note: Steve Brawner, the author of this column, is syndicated to 20 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.

Most Americans agree with requiring voters to present an ID at the ballot box. It’s already the law in Arkansas. Should it be a federal law, and should the government also require people to present a birth certificate or a passport in order to register to vote?

Those questions arise as Republicans in Congress, under President Trump’s leadership, seek to pass the SAVE America Act.

The bill requires voters to present a photo ID when voting in federal elections and to provide documentary proof of citizenship – generally a passport or birth certificate – when registering. 

The House of Representatives passed the bill, 218-213, with one Democrat voting with Republicans. All four members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation voted for it. It’s now in the Senate, where Arkansas Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman are co-sponsors. 

The bill will almost certainly stall there. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, but it would take 60 votes to overcome a Democratic filibuster. 

The only way the SAVE America Act passes is if senators do away with the filibuster in this case. Trump wants that to happen, as President Biden wanted to do to legalize abortion nationwide.

But many senators from both parties have resisted ending the filibuster through the years. They’re aware that majorities often flip in Congress. Democrats could be in charge in 10 months.

Trump has said he won’t sign any legislation until the SAVE Act comes to his desk – not even a bill to fund the Transportation Security Administration and shorten these long lines at airports.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote that Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, should identify the Republicans who don’t support his plans. He said they would never be elected again.

Supporters say the bill would prevent illegal immigrants from voting and would restore confidence in elections. 

On the other hand, many Americans don’t have a birth certificate or a passport, so there would be some extra headaches for them with obtaining those. Critics have raised concerns about the effect on married women and others who have legally changed their name. 

The SAVE America Act would allow the federal government to set national standards for elections, which generally is a state responsibility. Whenever that happens, citizens should ask the following question: Is the problem big enough to warrant the intrusion? 

In this case, we’re going to an awful lot of trouble to address an exceedingly small problem.

First, we have free and fair elections in America, and we should thank God for them. Constantly alleging otherwise, based on assertion without evidence, does not strengthen them.

Second, illegal immigrants are not corrupting the process. In fact, they rarely vote at all. Last year, Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester said the Department of Homeland Security had identified roughly 240 noncitizens – which apparently would include those here legally or not – on Arkansas’ voter rolls.

As reported by Arkansas Advocate, that’s 0.013% of the state’s 1.8 million registered voters. Some may have registered inadvertently by checking a box on a form. Thirty to 40 were believed to have voted in an election, although that number remained to be investigated.

The low number of voting illegal immigrants is not surprising. People living illegally in a foreign country make themselves as invisible to government authorities as possible. They’re not going to risk detection and deportation by being one of a million voters in an election.

Many of them are here because they are escaping poor, crime-ridden countries or persecution – a choice many of us might make if it were our families involved. 

It’s true they broke the law to come here, and that law exists for a reason. The inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty rightly refers to a “golden door.” Doors are controlled entries, which are necessary for a secure dwelling place.

On the other hand, we kind of let these people come here. Sure, we held one hand with palm out and told them to halt. But with the other hand, we motioned behind our backs to proceed. We did this because we wanted cheap laborers to defeather chickens, work construction, and babysit rich people’s children.

So we’re partly to blame here. Given that history, we should secure the border while providing a path to citizenship for people brought to America as children, and at least a path to legality for the rest who are otherwise law-abiding and willing to work. And we should reject ant-immigrant attitudes. 

We’re going to need all these young folks to help pay for older Americans’ Social Security. But that’s another column.