WHAT IS THE SAVE ACT, WHY IT’S BAD, AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO STOP IT
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act is a bill in Congress that would require every American
to provide documentary proof of citizenship – in person – to register to vote in federal elections or change
or update their voter registration. H.R. 22 passed the U.S. House in April by a vote of 220 to 208.
Why is the SAVE Act bad?
These new requirements are wholly
unnecessary, as citizenship is already verified
by election officials before voter granting
eligibility, and voter fraud is exceedingly rare.
If an eligible voter doesn’t have a passport and
their name doesn’t match their birth
certificate or naturalization papers, the law
tells the states to figure out their own system
for verifying citizenship. It can take a long time
to put new election laws into place at the state level, so if there’s a federal election before Missouri passes a
new law to address this, countless Missourians could be denied their constitutional right to vote.
If the SAVE Act becomes law, eligible voters can only register or re-register in person, and only election
officials would be able to register or re-register them. This would ban eligible voters from registering or
updating their voter registration by mail, through community registration drives, at the Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV), or anywhere else election officials were not. This would also place an extraordinary
burden on our election system, which does not have the capacity to verify citizenship eligibility in person for
thousands and thousands of Missourians. If the SAVE Act was passed into law today, the only place in
Missouri where people could register or update their registration would be county boards of elections,
and Missouri has only one per county.
Who would the SAVE Act impact?
• The SAVE Act would disproportionately hurt women, since many women changed their name when they
got married or divorced. The name on documents needed to prove citizenship may not match.
• It would especially hurt rural Americans, who are almost twice as likely as urban Americans to lack
access to a birth certificate or passport.
• It would also disenfranchise members of the military who may not be able to return home to register or
update their registration in person ahead of an election.
• It would impact students and others aged 18-29 who move more often than any other age group,
necessitating frequent updates to their voter registration.
• It also hurts older voters and those with disabilities by making it harder, and in some cases impossible,
to vote.
• It would also impact election workers who are already overworked and underpaid.
What can we do to stop the SAVE Act?
1.Tell everybody– talk about it, share in your social media, put info in your group chats. Find a template
for a letter to the editor here.
2.Click here to send a message to Senators Hawley and Schmitt or contact them directly to share your views.
Senator Josh Hawley (R) - 202-224-6154, hawley.senate.gov
Senator Eric Schmitt (R) - 202-224-5721, schmitt.senate.gov