The SAVE Act, also known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, has been a point of concern in the media recently. So far, the bill has already passed through the House of Representatives. It’s been a concern among voters as President Trump and the Republicans continuously push for the bill to pass, as it moves into the Senate for a vote.
What is the Bill?
The SAVE Act was proposed on January 3rd, 2025, by Republican Representative Chip Roy. This bill would require voters to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship by bringing in documents such as their birth certificate when registering to vote in federal elections. It would prohibit the states from processing a voting application without proof of citizenship. The states also have to establish an alternate process where an applicant can submit their proof of citizenship and a list of noncitizens that would be removed from the official list of eligible voters. The bill wants to ensure that each state takes correct steps so that U.S. citizens will be registered to vote, meaning a new program would have to be in place to identify individuals who aren’t U.S. citizens.
For the people in charge of registration, a penalty would be put into place for registering an applicant to vote in the federal election who didn’t provide proof of citizenship.
If you would like to read in further detail about what this bill could do, click here.
Why is this concerning?
It would cause an upheaval in how elections are currently conducted within states, and give them very little time to make changes to the systems in place. Not to mention that the programs the bill wants to put in place aren’t funded whatsoever. Any new technology or programs put in place would have to be funded by the states in their own way.
When it comes to handing over proof of citizenship, which would be a birth certificate or passport, for example, it could restrict voters who are truly eligible to vote. About 21.3 million eligible voters in the United States don’t have access to proof of citizenship, making it incredibly difficult to try to register to vote if the bill passes. More than half of people living in the United States don’t have passports. Having to show a birth certificate could be hard for women as well, since most married women take on their husband’s last name. If their name has changed, it would be a very difficult route to become eligible to vote.
At the moment, the Senate is debating whether to pass the bill or not, and President Trump has urged that this bill be passed. In response, the media has dissected the bill, diving into all of the small details, making it possible for the general public to see what the bill truly means and their stance on it. As of March 24th, the topic is still being discussed in the Senate with no decision being made.
