Oppose the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act

Oppose the SAVE Act

I write today in strong opposition to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a bill that proposes unnecessary and burdensome documentation requirements to register to vote in federal elections. This legislation is not only redundant but also an affront to the fundamental principles of our democracy, creating unnecessary barriers to voting and disproportionately disenfranchising communities of color, elderly voters, low-income citizens, and naturalized Americans.

First and foremost, the SAVE Act is unnecessary. It is already illegal for non-citizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. Existing state and federal laws require voters to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering to vote. Election officials already have secure and reliable systems in place to confirm voter eligibility and maintain accurate voter rolls. This bill does nothing to strengthen election security; instead, it introduces additional barriers to an already secure process.

The U.S. Constitution explicitly protects the right to vote.

1. The Fourteenth Amendment establishes equal protection under the law, ensuring that no state can impose discriminatory restrictions on eligible voters.

2. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits voting discrimination based on race

3. The Nineteenth Amendment guarantees women's voting rights.

4. The Twenty-Sixth Amendment ensures that citizens aged 18 and older cannot be denied the right to vote.

   
   

   The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was designed to dismantle precisely the kind of voter suppression tactics that this bill seeks to revive.

The SAVE Act’s requirement for documentary proof of citizenship disproportionately impacts historically marginalized communities. Studies show that compared to white U.S. citizens, citizens of color are three times more likely to lack documents such as birth certificates, passports, or naturalization certificates. For example, while approximately half of American adults hold a passport, two-thirds of Black Americans do not. Many elderly Americans were born at a time when birth records were not consistently maintained, making obtaining the necessary documentation a significant hurdle.

Additionally, the process of acquiring these documents can be costly, time-consuming, and burdensome, particularly for low-income individuals and those who must navigate complex bureaucratic systems.

This bill is yet another attempt to erect unnecessary obstacles to the ballot box, following a long history of restrictive voter ID laws, limits on language-accessible voting materials, and other suppression tactics designed to deter voter participation. The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that voting is a fundamental right that cannot be unduly burdened by discriminatory regulations. In Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966), the Court struck down poll taxes as an unconstitutional barrier to voting, reinforcing the principle that financial or procedural hurdles must not be used to suppress eligible voters.

If Congress truly seeks to safeguard American democracy, it should focus on policies that expand access to the ballot rather than restrict it. I recommend. pivot to 1 person 1 vote and eliminate the electoral college.

Measures such as automatic voter registration, expanded early voting, and protections against partisan gerrymandering would strengthen electoral participation and ensure that every eligible voter can freely and fairly exercise their right to vote. Instead of passing restrictive legislation like the SAVE Act, lawmakers should be working to remove barriers that disenfranchise voters and undermine the core democratic principles enshrined in our Constitution.

I urge members of Congress to reject this unnecessary and discriminatory bill and to uphold the fundamental right of every eligible American citizen to participate in our democracy without undue hindrance.

Thank you for your time and consideration.