DCNOW Opposes SAVE Act

By: Miriam Edelman

DCNOW opposes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act), which purports to ensure that only American citizens vote in federal elections. As the League of Women Voters wrote, “The SAVE Act is based on misinformation and fearmongering rather than facts, as there is no evidence of widespread non-citizen voter registration or voting in state and federal elections.” The National Women’s Law Center also condemned the bill, writing “The SAVE Act isn’t about election integrity; it’s about making it harder for specific groups of people to vote, like women and trans people. It’s voter suppression that perpetuates anti-immigrant misinformation.”

Both chambers of Congress have similar SAVE Act bills. On January 3, 2025, Representative Roy Chip (R-TX) introduced H.R. 22 – SAVE Act. This bill “requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.” NPR reports that people could submit “ a birth certificate, U.S. passport, naturalization paperwork and certain versions of the Real ID that indicate citizenship” as proof. The SAVE Act also mandates that states “remove non-citizens from existing voter rolls.” All 110 House cosponsors are Republicans. On April 10, 2025, the full House approved the bill by a vote of 220 Yeas (including four Democrats and 216 Republicans), 208 Nays (including 208 Democrats and zero Republicans), and zero Present. In addition, five people (including one Democrat and four Republicans) did not vote. On January 16, 2025, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the related bill, S.128 - SAVE Act. All 28 cosponsors are Republicans.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) opposes the bill. It signed onto a major civil rights letter on March 28^th against the SAVE Act, which it referred to as “a shameful, divisive attempt to prevent millions of eligible U.S. citizens — disproportionately Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and other voters of color — from registering to vote.”

Although the SAVE Act tries to prevent voting by noncitizens, it also attacks women’s ability to register to vote. According to (NOW), since the bill would mandate that people registering to vote supply proof of citizenship, this bill would “disenfranchise millions, disproportionately impacting women, military members, and people of color.” NOW explained the bill’s potential negative effects on women:

“The SAVE Act demands that voter registration applicants produce proof of citizenship documents—in person!”

“That would functionally destroy mail registration, and impact more than 21.3 million people of voting age who don’t have proof of citizenship available.”

“The fact is, most married women cannot present a valid birth certificate under the SAVE Act, as it does not display their current legal name.”

“Just like that—the SAVE act threatens the vote for as many as 69 million women who have taken their spouse’s name but do not have a matching birth certificate.”

In addition, the Center for American Progress wrote about the SAVE Act in relation to women:

“84 percent of women who marry change their surname, meaning as many as 69 million American women do not have a birth certificate with their legal name on it and thereby could not use their birth certificate to prove citizenship. The SAVE Act makes no mention of being able to show a marriage certificate or change-of-name documentation.”

As the National Women’s Legal Center described, a passport could be used as proof, but most Americans do not have a passport. Since one must pay a fee to acquire a passport, getting a passport to prove citizenship is a “bureaucratic and expensive step to vote.” As Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03) and Vice Chairs Hillary Scholten (MI-03) and Emilia Sykes (OH-13) wrote in their press release opposing the SAVE Act:

“Passports cost more than $130, and the nearest office to get one is often hours away. This is too expensive and out of reach for millions of working women and moms. If women can’t register, we can’t vote. 105 years after finally gaining the right to vote, we cannot afford to lose our voice.”

Some legal experts speculate that if the SAVE Act becomes law, states could help by accepting other documents, such as “legal decree of a name change or a marriage certificate.” However, this fix may not help every married woman. Since married people who change their name usually are not mandated to have a court decree, court decrees are not common. In addition, acquiring marriage certificates could be very difficult for women who are in long-term marriages.

On X on April 10, 2025, Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) wrote about the dangers of the SAVE Act on women:

“This voter suppression bill will disenfranchise millions of voters, especially married women.”

“If you got married and changed your name, your ID will not match your birth certificate and if you do not have a passport to prove your citizenship—you will not be able to cast your ballot.”

DCNOW encourages people to RSVP to and attend a rally to oppose the SAVE Act. The rally will occur near the U.S. Capitol at 10:30 a.m. on September 10, 2025. The specific location will be shared with people who RSVP. National NOW’s new President and Vice President, DCNOW’s recent President Rose Brunache, and others will speak at the event. Individuals should also write their Senators, requesting that Senators vote against the SAVE Act.

The SAVE Act could become law. The House and the Senate would have to pass the same bill. Reportedly, Senate Democrats very well may filibuster the bill. However, if the Senate passes the SAVE Act, it is likely that President Trump would sign the bill into law. In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order that increases requirements for proof of citizenship for voting in federal elections. The executive order said:

“The right of American citizens to have their votes properly counted and tabulated, without illegal dilution, is vital to determining the rightful winner of an election.”

“Under the Constitution, State governments must safeguard American elections in compliance with Federal laws that protect Americans’ voting rights and guard against dilution by illegal voting, discrimination, fraud, and other forms of malfeasance and error.  Yet the United States has not adequately enforced Federal election requirements that, for example, prohibit States from counting ballots received after Election Day or prohibit non-citizens from registering to vote.”

The SAVE Act must not become law. As the Democratic Women’s Caucus wrote in its March 27, 2025, letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, “Expecting millions of women to navigate yet another complex process just to exercise their right to vote is an unnecessary barrier that will disenfranchise millions of women voters.” As women are U.S. citizens, they have every right to vote. Making voting harder for women is undemocratic.