The SAVE Act Saves Nothing

The SAVE America Act is not about protecting elections. It is about restricting access to the ballot and undermining the foundation of our democracy. The SAVE America Act would require Americans to present documents such as passports or birth certificates simply to register to vote, while imposing additional restrictive photo ID requirements to cast a ballot. Millions of eligible voters do not have immediate access to these documents. For many, obtaining them is costly, time-consuming, or practically impossible. If names do not perfectly match across documents — such as in cases where someone changed their name after marriage — eligible voters would face additional and unnecessary barriers. The bill also compels states to hand over sensitive voter data to the federal government and encourages aggressive and error-prone voter roll purges, which are likely to remove eligible voters from the rolls. We have seen how flawed purges disproportionately harm lawful voters. If lawmakers were truly committed to free and fair elections, they would expand access—through mail-in voting, same-day and online registration, adequate funding for election officials, and expanded early voting. Instead, this legislation does the opposite. It creates obstacles that disproportionately impact working people, married women who have changed their names, low-income communities, seniors, and marginalized groups. Efforts like this erode trust in our system and weaken the principle that every eligible citizen has the right to vote without undue burden. I expect you to reject the SAVE America Act and any other legislation designed to make participation in our democracy harder, not easier. I expect you to defend the fundamental right to vote and oppose the SAVE America Act. The state of our democracy hinges on it.