Under the guise of “election integrity,” new legislation threatens to create unnecessary barriers to voting.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, HR 22, in early January, with a vote expected in the coming weeks. The SAVE Act seeks to amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 by requiring voters to present documentation, in person, when registering to vote or updating their voter registration information.
These changes would have dramatic effects on America’s vote-by-mail system and disenfranchise groups that already have limited voting access.
Eliminate Vote by Mail
This change “would, in practice, prevent Americans from being able to register to vote by mail; end voter registration drives nationwide; and eliminate online voter registration overnight—a service 42 states rely on,” the Center for American Progress’ Greta Bedekovics and Sydney Bryant warn.
Bedekovics and Bryant continue:
“Americans would need to appear in person, with original documentation, to even simply update their voter registration information for a change of address or change in party affiliation. These impacts alone would set voter registration sophistication and technology back by decades and would be unworkable for millions of Americans, including more than 60 million people who live in rural areas. Additionally, driver’s licenses—including REAL IDs—as well military or tribal IDs would not be sufficient forms of documentation to prove citizenship under the legislation.”
Negative Effects on Disenfranchised Communities
Many U.S. citizens—especially people of color, low-income individuals and women—do not possess the required documentation and face significant challenges in obtaining it, creating disproportionate barriers for historically disenfranchised communities.
- Approximately 11 percent of Americans of color lack ready access to citizenship documents—compared to about 8 percent of white Americans.
- Nearly 9 percent of voting-age Black Americans lack access to birth certificates and passports, compared to 5.5 percent of white Americans.
- As many as 69 million women who have changed their last name to match their spouse’s do not have a birth certificate matching their legal name.
Legislation Built on False Fears of Election Fraud
Republican House leadership has called the SAVE Act one of their top priorities.
This type of legislation is part of a broader strategy that exploits fear and misinformation to justify restrictive voting laws. Despite repeated studies debunking the myth of widespread non-citizen voting, supporters of the bill continue to push false claims to justify disenfranchising millions of Americans.
The consequences of similar laws in states like Kansas demonstrate the harm that would be replicated nationwide: When Kansas implemented a proof-of-citizenship requirement, more than 31,000 otherwise eligible voters were blocked from registering, with the burden falling disproportionately on people of color and the elderly. If enacted at the federal level, the SAVE Act could prevent millions of eligible voters from participating in elections, reinforcing structural inequalities in political representation.
Beyond the immediate threat to voter access, the SAVE Act is a dangerous step toward more aggressive voter suppression efforts. The bill would enable large-scale “voter purges,” removing lawfully registered citizens from voter rolls without safeguards or notification. Recent voter purges in states like Alabama have already demonstrated how such tactics disproportionately target naturalized citizens and communities of color. Additionally, the bill’s requirement for proof of citizenship every time an individual registers to vote would make it significantly harder for voter registration drives to reach underrepresented communities.
Key legislative measures, such as the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act, offer real solutions to reinforcing democracy and ensuring that all Americans have a voice in the political process. Instead of perpetuating baseless claims of voter fraud, lawmakers should be focused on addressing real barriers that prevent eligible voters from casting their ballots, including voter intimidation, polling place closures and gerrymandering.
The SAVE Act is not about election security; it is about restricting access to the ballot to maintain political power. By imposing unnecessary documentation requirements, it erects barriers that disproportionately affect communities that have historically been excluded from full democratic participation. The right to vote is fundamental to a functioning democracy.
This article was originally published on the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Feminist Newswire.
