The House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act for the second time in April 2025. The SAVE Act would require citizenship documentation to register to vote even though voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering.
Now, the Senate must reject this bill to prevent it from becoming law.
It is already illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. The bill’s requirement of a document to prove American citizenship to register to vote in federal elections is unnecessary and seeks to divide us. It also creates another barrier to voting.
Many communities of eligible voters would be unnecessarily burdened by the requirements of the SAVE Act. Among them are military voters who would be required to present documentation every time they re-register to vote when their family moves. Families who have been impacted by natural disasters may have lost necessary documentation and would be required to jump through hoops to replace these documents to register to vote while also going through the traumatic process of rebuilding their lives. Additionally, Americans who have changed their name, like married women, would also be required to secure updated documentation to register to vote.
Americans do not need MORE obstacles to vote. The SAVE Act would create one more barrier to the voting process, as many eligible voters do not have easy access to the necessary documents. Compared to white US citizens, citizens of color are three times more likely to lack documents such as birth certificates, passports, naturalization certificates, or certificates of citizenship or face difficulties accessing them. For example, while approximately half of all American adults possess a passport, two-thirds of Black Americans do not.
Tell your Senators to oppose the SAVE Act.