Lawmakers debated over the SAVE Act last year and it stalled in the Senate after major public backlash. SAVE stands for Safeguard American Voter Eligibility. Now, an amended version, which is called the SAVE America Act is coming up for a vote in the senate. It passed the House on February 11. The Senate needs 60 votes to pass and Republicans hold only a 53-47 majority.
The updated version of the bill also adds a photo ID requirement for voters and requires states to run their voter rolls through the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database to scan for noncitizens.
The bill would take effect immediately upon enactment. There are serious questions about whether it’s even possible to implement the requirements in time for the midterm elections. Election officials would have to build out entirely new procedures without the time or money to do so.
The SAVE America Act would affect people registering to vote or those updating their voter registration. They would be required to show specific documents proving American citizenship. It's already illegal for non-citizens to vote. This bill would deter many eligible voters from registering.
The easiest way to show proof of citizenship is with a passport. However, only about half of Americans have a valid U.S. passport. Getting one typically takes four to six weeks and costs around $130.
Another acceptable document is a birth certificate. If your current legal name doesn't match your birth certificate name, this poses a problem. Approximately 69 million married women took their spouse’s last name, which means the name on their birth certificates don’t match their current legal name. You would think bringing along a marriage certificates would solve the problem, but no. Marriage certificates aren’t listed in either the original bill or the amended bill as an accepted form of additional documentation if you don’t have a passport.
If the bill passes, states would have to make major changes to their voter registration process and they would not be given any additional funding to do it.
The Act would require states to share voter information with the Department of Homeland Security. Voting rolls can contain information you might not want shared. Depending on your state, your voting roll might contain your party affiliation, your date of birth, your address, phone number, and email. This could benefit politicians who could use the information to their advantage at the polls, and could also increase the risks of identity theft.
The SAVE America Act probably won't pass, but maybe that's not the point.
"The bill wasn’t introduced with the goal of making elections run more smoothly; it was introduced to make the point that elections aren’t as secure as they could be. If, as expected, the bill fails and voters don’t have to prove their citizenship or show photo ID in 2026, it could make it easier for Trump and his allies to claim that the results are tainted by fraud. That could be a different type of nightmare scenario." Vote Beat
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Why The SAVE America Act Could Create New Obstacles For Millions Of Voters ~ Forbes. "Proponents of the SAVE Act say the bill will help prevent non-citizens from voting and “protect federal elections from fraud and abuse,” but opponents point out that the bill is trying to solve a problem that does not actually exist. It’s already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections, and research finds just 0.04% of voter verification cases are returned as non-citizens. At the same time, the SAVE America Act could actually prevent millions of eligible voters who don’t have immediate access to the specific documents required in the bill from being able to exercise their right."
What if everyone had to prove their citizenship to register to vote? ~ Vote Beat "According to a 2023 survey conducted by SSRS on behalf of the University of Maryland and three voting-rights groups, 9% of voting-age citizens don’t have easy access to a document that proves their citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization certificate."
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