Utah’s voter ID bill could take away my right to vote — and possibly yours as well, especially if you’re a married woman.
I was born in Taiwan and immigrated to the United States as an infant. I became a naturalized citizen at 12. I later served as a Marine Corps infantryman during the Gulf War and am proud of my service, like many immigrants I served alongside.
SB194 could strip me of the right to vote in local elections. The bill requires “documentary proof of United States citizenship” in one of several specific forms:
- A Utah driver’s license that verifies U.S. citizenship (Utah Real ID driver’s licenses do not verify citizenship; green card holders can obtain them)
- A Utah state ID that verifies citizenship (also available to green card holders)
- A birth certificate (replacement copies cost $25–$55, depending on the state)
- A U.S. passport (at least $165 for a new passport, $130 if I renew)
- An alien registration number that verifies citizenship (a puzzling inclusion, as this applies to noncitizens)
- Naturalization documents (mine were lost decades ago; replacement costs $505)
- A Bureau of Indian Affairs card number or tribal enrollment number
- A certificate of degree of Indian blood or BIA affidavit of birth
- Verification through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program (which individuals cannot directly request)
- Other documentation consistent with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (such as for children born overseas to U.S. citizen diplomats/military)
Neither my Utah driver’s license nor my DD-214 from the Marine Corps identifies me as a U.S. citizen. I have no U.S. birth certificate.
If you are a married woman who took your husband’s name, your birth certificate may not match your current legal name. Marriage licenses and court-approved name changes are not listed as acceptable supporting documents. If you do not have a current passport — and roughly half of Utahns do not — and your birth certificate does not match your present name, you may face serious obstacles.
My 85-year-old mother, who votes straight-ticket Republican, no longer travels internationally and has no need for a passport. My 84-year-old mother-in-law lacks a passport or driver’s license, and her birth certificate reflects her maiden name. Should they be unable to vote in local elections?
You may wonder why these requirements apply only to local elections. The reason is the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 — the “Motor Voter Act.” It established uniform voter registration standards for federal elections and does not require the documents listed above. Instead, applicants provide personal information, including their Social Security number, and county clerks verify citizenship through the SAVE database.
While some claim this system allows widespread noncitizen voting, evidence does not support that assertion. Out of billions of votes cast since the law took effect, documented cases of noncitizen voting in federal elections have been extremely rare. In Utah, the Heritage Foundation (creators of Project 2025) publishes an election fraud database that found only three U.S. citizens who fraudulently claimed Daggett County residency in 2008 to vote in a sheriff’s race.
Courts have held that the Motor Voter Act did not allow Arizona to require similar citizenship documentation in federal elections. You may remember claims in the last election that thousands of noncitizens voted in Arizona in 2024. Rather than blatant election fraud, those numbers reflected U.S. citizens who were unable to provide the required ID. However, they were confirmed to be citizens when checked against the SAVE database and were able to vote for federal office candidates but not the local ones. If any noncitizen voting had occurred, it would have resulted in widespread felony prosecutions. It did not.
Utah’s current system of verifying citizenship works effectively and at no cost to voters. Article I, Section 17 of the Utah Constitution states: “All elections shall be free, and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.”
SB194 would make voting more difficult and more expensive to address a threat that existing systems already guard against. Voting should remain free, accessible and secure — without imposing unnecessary burdens on lawful citizens.