Senators Must Vote Down the So-Called “SAVE Act”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. House of Representatives pushed forward an extremely harmful anti-voter bill called the “SAVE Act” (H.R. 22).
The SAVE Act would require every American citizen to present a passport or an original copy of their birth certificate in person when registering to vote and any time they update their voter registration, but more than half of American citizens – about 146 million people – do not have a passport and 13 million U.S. citizens do not have ready access to citizenship documents. The bill would upend online voter registration, a practice in 42 states, making it nearly impossible for Americans to register to vote by mail and end voter registration drives nationwide.
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, said senators must vote down this legislation to ensure every eligible voter can engage in every election.
“The SAVE Act is an assault on a fundamental American freedom – our ability to vote,” said Gilbert. “Every member of Congress should realize they are harming their own constituents if they push this bill through. A set of eligible voters who were able to participate in past elections – some who have been registered for decades – will now be unable to cast their ballots. The SAVE Act is extremely harmful and should not be signed into law.”
Quick facts:
- Nationwide, approximately 146 million American citizens do not possess a passport – to put that into perspective, 153 million Americans cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential general election.
- In seven states, less than one-third of citizens have a valid passport: West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.
- Only in four states do more than two-thirds of the citizens have a valid passport: New York, Massachusetts, California, and New Jersey.
- Nationwide, approximately 69 million women who have married and 4 million men who have married could not use their birth certificate to prove their identity or citizenship status under the SAVE Act
Check out the latest in-depth analysis by policy experts on the harms of the SAVE Act:
- Brennan Justice Center: House Bill Would Hurt American Voters
- Campaign Legal Center: Fact Sheet: The SAVE Act Threatens All Voters
- Center for American Progress: The SAVE Act Would Disenfranchise Millions of Citizens
- Vote Riders: The SAVE Act Is Dangerous for Democracy
- Stand Up America: Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) Act One-Pager