1. United States
2. Tenn.
3. Letter

As your constituent, I am writing to share my strong concern about S.128 / H.R. 22—the SAVE Act—and the new versions of this bill. As a member of the Senate, I hope that you will oppose this ANTI-voter legislation. The SAVE Act would create barriers to voting for millions of U.S. citizens, particularly for married women. The bill would require eligible voters to provide proof of citizenship in person when registering to vote, based on a restricted list of acceptable documents. The bill is confusing and likely to be misinterpreted. For example, it states that REAL ID would work for proof of citizenship, but in reality, REAL IDs do not specify citizenship status. Similarly, most state-issued driver's licenses wouldn’t allow an eligible voter to register to vote because they do not show citizenship. Instead, voters would need documents such as a passport, which more than HALF of Americans do not have, or a birth certificate that exactly matches the name on their legal ID. I’m particularly concerned that these rigid requirements would make voting harder on eligible married women. For example, the 69 million married women who have taken their spouse’s surname will not have a birth certificate that matches their legal ID—and the SAVE Act has no solution for them. They are just unable to vote unless they have a passport. Similarly, trans people who legally change their name on their I.D.s will also not have matching birth certificates. Many Americans have passports, but low-income Americans are less likely to have access to a valid passport or have money to pay for one. Needing expensive documents to vote would make it especially difficult for women and trans people, who have higher rates of poverty than men. The new SAVE Act 2.0 bills retain these burdensome requirements and include additional language that would make in-person voting more difficult and impede states’ ability to conduct elections. This is not the type of voter reform that is needed or wanted in TN and the nation at large. Furthermore, these bills are unnecessary. It is ALREADY illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. Doing so is a felony punishable by jail time, hefty fines, and even deportation. Considering this, it is no surprise that noncitizen voting is EXTREMELY rare and never significantly affects election outcomes. IF you have data and proof that this is not the case, then you owe it to the citizens of the United States to plainly present your case and show need. Anything less is simple partisan pandering. Truth is, Each of these are voter suppression bills that makes voting more difficult for all Americans, justified by a problem that Does Not Exist. I urge you to oppose the SAVE Act and similar bills that would make it harder for U.S. citizens to vote.