The U.S. House of Representatives passed HR22, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a bill that poses a significant threat to voter freedom and election access across the country imposing bureaucratic barriers.
While supporters claim the SAVE Act is meant to protect elections from noncitizen voting, it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. This law exaggerates the risk while imposing new barriers on eligible American voters, echoing what many are calling a new poll tax – a deliberate barrier to the ballot box.
Key concerns about the act include:
- Increased burdens on military and service members:
Military IDs alone will no longer be sufficient to prove citizenship. Service members moving between assignments will be forced to present extensive documentation each time they re-register.
- Hardships for disaster survivors:
Survivors of hurricanes, wildfires and natural disasters – who may have lost essential documents – would face significant barriers trying to replace paperwork.
- Impacts on women, trans voters and others who have changed their names:
Marriage, transition or legal name changes would now require updated citizenship documents. An estimated 69 million American women lack paperwork.
- Disenfranchisement of rural, Black, Indigenous, and working-class voters:
Many Americans may not possess passports or readily available birth certificates.
Tribal citizens would no longer be able to use tribal IDs unless they include a place of birth, which they currently do not.
- Real IDs, driver’s licenses, military and tribal IDs would no longer be enough:
Voters would now need additional proof, such as a passport or certified birth certificate, even if they hold valid government-issued identification.