Republicans are once again trying to radically make it harder for U.S. citizens to vote. Their latest attempts, including the SAVE America Act and the MEGA Act, won’t just make it harder to vote, but are also going to cost you money.

First, a reminder: only U.S. citizens can vote in presidential elections. So, that’s already handled and new laws aren’t necessary to achieve that.

If Congress passed the SAVE America Act or the MEGA Act, it would impose unnecessary new requirements for specific documents to exercise your right to vote.

First, you would need a passport or a birth certificate to register or maintain your place on the voter rolls in your state. You would also have to present an ID from a limited list of options when voting, even if you provided all the required documents to verify your place on the voter rolls.

To make matters worse, state-level politicians want to prevent even more Americans from voting by requiring citizens to show REAL ID at the polls.

These laws would effectively disenfranchise Americans across the country who do not have these forms of ID readily available. It costs money, puts an added burden on voters, and could cause election officials to turn voters away at the polls.

As a reminder, more than 146 million Americans do not have a passport. And 21.3 million Americans do not have easy access to a birth certificate or naturalization certificate. About 40% of driver's licenses and state ID cards nationwide do not meet REAL ID requirements.

Similarly, if your name does not match your birth certificate, like the 69 triệu phụ nữ đã kết hôn who have changed their last names, you would have to request a new one to make the names match.

The cost of these document requests varies from state to state but can be between $10 and $1000. Check this list below to see how much legislation that requires a Real ID, passport, or birth certificate to vote could cost you by state

1. Alabama: $20.00 to $635.25 
2. Alaska: $30.00 to $615.00 
3. Arizona: $20.00 to $683.00 
4. Arkansas: $12.00 – $1,002.00 
5. California: $34.00 – $211.00 
6. Colorado: $20.00 – $585.75 
7. Connecticut: $20.00 – $751.00 
8. Delaware: $25.00 – $646.00 
9. Florida: $10.00 – $219.25 
10. Georgia: $25.00 – $197.00 
11. Hawaii: $10.00 – $205.00 
12. Idaho: $16.00– $225.00 
13. Illinois: $15.00 – $195.00 
14. Indiana: $16.00 – $182.50 
15. Iowa: $15.00 – $197.00 
16. Kansas: $20.00 – $196.00 
17. Kentucky: $16.00 – $213.00 
18. Louisiana: $34.00 – $197.25 
19. Maine: $15.00– $220.00 
20. Maryland: $25.00 – $237.00 
21. Massachusetts: $20.00 – $215.00 
22. Michigan: $15.00 – $190.00 
23. Minnesota: $26.00 – $211.00 
24. Mississippi: $17.00 – $370.00 
25. Missouri: $15.00-$300.00 
26. Montana: $8.00 – $230.50 
27. Nebraska: $17.00 – $365.00 
28. Nevada: $25.00 – $206.25 
29. New Hampshire: $15.00 – $225.00 
30. New Jersey: $28.00 – $200.00 
31. New Mexico: $10.00 – $354.00 
32. New York: $15.00 – $285.50 
33. North Carolina: $10.00 – $208.75 
34. North Dakota: $15.00 – $340.00 
35. Ohio: $25.00 – $744.00 
36. Oklahoma: $15.00 – $491.00 
37. Oregon: $25.00 – $274.00 
38. Pennsylvania: $20.00 – $579.50 
39. Rhode Island: $22.00 – $263.50 
40. South Carolina: $12.00 – $215.00 
41. South Dakota: $15.00 – $218.00 
42. Tennessee: $15.00– $315.50 
43. Texas: $22.00– $598.00 
44. Utah: $22.00– $253.00 
45. Vermont: $10.00– $502.00 
46. Virginia: $12.00– $229.00 
47. Washington: $25.00 – $377.00 
48. West Virginia: $12.00 – $232.00 
49. Wisconsin: $20.00– $315.00 
50. Wyoming: $25.00 – $560.00  

When we call these bills modern day poll taxes, this is why. These requirements would put a financial strain on millions of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck.

Our democracy is not pay to play. Voting should be free and accessible to all Americans regardless of their financial status — not something only accessible behind a wall of fees.

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