Last year, we fought back against the first of Trump’s many attempts to suppress our votes. It started when he signed an executive order in a dangerous attempt to target people based on their race, income, and zip code. It was one of many attempts to restrict who gets a voice in our democracy, making it harder for millions to cast a ballot and be heard. Instead of voters choosing their leaders, it paves the way for MAGA extremists to decide who gets to participate in the first place. We knew this was just one of many authoritarian power grabs we would have to fight.
That fight continued with H.R. 22, a dangerous proposal known to many as the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility” (SAVE) Act. This bill was introduced by Trump allies in Congress and would legally mandate documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. This bill passed the House with a 220-208 vote. Four Democrats voted in favor: Case-HI, Cuellar-TX, Golden-ME, and Gluesenkamp Perez-WA.
The original bill was stalled in the Senate since last spring, but now Republicans are back to trying to stop millions from participating in the mid-term elections. They have introduced two new versions of their notorious SAVE Act, and we need to get loud and reject this anti-democratic push NOW.
What Even Are These Bills?
These bills would require every voter to show proof of citizenship, like a passport or original birth certificate, when registering to vote in federal elections. That might sound simple, but the reality is that millions of eligible voters don’t have these documents readily available. Because these bills would require showing this proof in person, it would eliminate online and mail-in voter registration. This wouldn’t improve election security—it would just make it significantly harder for everyday Americans to vote.
This would disproportionately impact:
- Married women who have changed their last names, many of whom don’t have birth certificates matching their legal name
- Transgender and non-binary people who face barriers legally changing their names
- Naturalized citizens could face additional barriers and intimidation
- Rural Americans who would no longer have access to online and mail-in voting
- Military members, tribal citizens, and working-class Americans, who may not have easy access to these documents
We’ve seen the damage of similar laws in states like Kansas and Arizona, where thousands of eligible voters were blocked from registering. Those without citizenship status are already barred from voting in federal elections, and states have secure systems in place to verify voter eligibility—this bill is unnecessary.
The two new bills: SAVE America Act (HR 7296) and Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act (HR 7300), are just two of the same bills under a different name. These three bills are all direct threats to our freedom to vote, and we cannot let Republicans get away with this.
What Can You Do?
Push back loudly on any version of voter suppression legislation, be it the original, 2.0, or 3.0.
They want to distract us by creating constant crises and attempting to silence our voices, but we have the power of our movement, and we will not back down.
Take Action Now
