Anti-voter SAVE Act passes U.S. House

Extreme, anti-democracy legislation would make it harder for U.S. citizens to vote

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Michigan League of Conservation Voters today issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the dubiously named Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would create unnecessary and discriminatory barriers to voter registration and the ballot box. 

“Let’s be clear: the SAVE Act is a blatant attempt to undermine our democracy and make it harder to vote,” said Bentley Johnson, federal government affairs director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. “This bill puts restrictions on tens of millions of women and other eligible voters who have changed their name, and will unnecessarily cost voters time and money just to exercise their fundamental freedom to vote.” 

The SAVE Act would require all Americans to provide specific documentation – such as a passport or birth certificate – to prove their citizenship when registering to vote or updating their voter registration. This process would have to be completed in person, effectively eliminating online and mail-in voter registration methods that are widely used across the country. 

If enacted, the SAVE Act would: 

• Disenfranchise voters without passports: Over 140 million American citizens do not have a passport and would face unnecessary hurdles to prove their citizenship.

• Complicate registration for married women: Roughly 69 million American women who have changed their last names after marriage may find discrepancies between their birth certificates and current legal names, putting their ability to vote at risk. 

• Eliminate accessible registration methods: By requiring the in-person submission of documents, the SAVE Act would end online and mail-in registration, as well as community-based registration drives that help get voters registered. 

• Disproportionately harm marginalized communities: These barriers would hit seniors, people with disabilities, low-income Americans, students, and BIPOC communities the hardest. 

In Michigan, a similar proposal – House Joint Resolution B – was introduced by GOP lawmakers and would impose the same unnecessary restrictions on Michigan voters. Both efforts come despite the fact that proof of U.S. citizenship is already required to register to vote in Michigan and across the country.