Jim Crow called — it wants its smear back

Opponents of the SAVE America Act have reached for the oldest smear in the election-law playbook: racism.

Sunny Hostin of “The View” recently said she opposed the bill because it would “disproportionately affect African-American voters.” She compared proof-of-citizenship requirements to Jim Crow devices such as literacy tests and jelly bean counting.

Election reform cannot proceed honestly while racial demagoguery substitutes for argument.

The comparison is historically illiterate.

Poll taxes, literacy tests, and arbitrary guessing games were designed to keep black Americans from voting. Requiring voters to prove identity and citizenship applies a neutral rule to everyone.

The SAVE America Act would require applicants for federal voter registration to provide documentary proof of citizenship, such as a passport, a REAL ID indicating citizenship, or qualifying military records. Related provisions would require