WASHINGTON, DC– Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 22, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, by a vote of 220-208. The Lawyers’ Committee previously opposed the SAVE Act last Congress and has outlined the many problems it and similar bills would cause for Black voters and election administrators.
“The Senate needs to save our electionsfrom the SAVE Act,” said Alex Ault, policy counsel, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law. “This fight is not over. Anyone without a passport, anyone who has ever changed their name, or anyone who moved since they last voted will find registering and voting under the SAVE Act to be non-sensically harder and more bureaucratic. This is particularly galling for Black Americans, who are statistically less likely to own a passport, and for the millions of women who elected to change their name upon marriage and no longer have a matching birth certificate.
“This bill would impose substantial burdens on thousands of American citizens who wish to exercise their right to participate in our nation’s democracy, and would have the practical effect of fencing many citizens out of the voting booth. The bill would also compel voter purges with no notice, transparency, or guardrails—leading to shocks and delays on election day. The SAVE Act undermines our elections under the guise of protecting them.
“The SAVE Act is being pushed in Congress even though federal and state law already make it unambiguous that only American citizens can vote in federal and state elections, with harsh penalties for violation. Proposing burdensome legislation to solve a non-problem suggests that the intention of this bill is to exploit fabricated fears to suppress voting rights. The bill should be rejected.
“The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law will continue to pursue comprehensive voting rights legislation that addresses the real problems that voters experience, such as racial discrimination born from the waves of insidious voter suppression laws we have seen since the 2020 election. We look forward to continuing our work with Congress to pass needed pro-democracy legislation addressing the specific harms that Black voters and other voters of color face, including the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.”
