1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

I urge you to oppose SB128, the SAVE Act, which would impose documentary proof of citizenship requirements on all federal voter registration. This legislation creates substantial barriers to voting for eligible citizens while addressing a problem that essentially does not exist. Noncitizen voting is extraordinarily rare. Study after study has found virtually no documented cases of noncitizens attempting to register or vote in federal elections. This bill would impose massive administrative burdens and restrict access to the ballot box for millions of eligible American citizens to solve a problem that occurs at statistically insignificant rates. The documentary requirements in SB128 would disproportionately harm women and minority voters. Many women lack identification reflecting their current legal name due to marriage or divorce. Millions of eligible citizens, particularly elderly Americans and those born in rural areas, lack birth certificates due to historical record-keeping limitations. The bill requires REAL ID-compliant identification, valid passports, naturalization certificates, or other documents that many citizens simply do not possess and cannot easily obtain. The implementation timeline is administratively impossible. States would have just 30 days to establish verification programs without any federal funding to support these unfunded mandates. This rushed timeline risks election disruption and voter confusion while straining already resource-constrained election offices. The private right of action provision invites endless litigation against election officials, creating legal uncertainty and further burdening state and local governments. Criminal penalties for providing material assistance could have chilling effects on legitimate voter registration drives that serve communities across the country. I ask you to protect the fundamental right to vote by opposing SB128. Eligible American citizens should not face additional obstacles to exercising their constitutional rights. This legislation prioritizes theoretical concerns over the practical reality that it would prevent far more legitimate voters from registering than any hypothetical noncitizens it might stop.