The House passed the SAVE Act. Now repackaged as the SAVE America Act, it may soon come before the Senate. If it becomes law, it would require Americans to show documentary proof of citizenship in person to register to vote, effectively dismantling mail-in, online, and voter registration systems that states currently administer. That’s a big deal because it could silence millions of eligible voters before the next election.
The SAVE Act is not about “election integrity.” Citizenship is already required to vote.
So what problem is this bill solving? It’s “fixing” a hangnail by amputating the hand.
They say “illegals are voting in droves” in Michigan. In 2024, Michigan had 5.7 million voters. Sixteen were non-citizens. Thirteen were criminally charged, because voting as a non-citizen is already a felony punishable by massive fines and deportation. In other words: the system worked.
Under this proposal, Americans would need a passport or certified birth certificate to register. If your current name doesn’t match your birth certificate, as is common for married women, you’ll need additional legal documentation. That can cost $150-$500 and weeks of waiting. That’s effectively a modern poll tax, something the 24th Amendment explicitly prohibits.
And let’s not ignore the federal overreach. Elections are primarily run by states. Wisconsin already verifies voters and prosecutes fraud, which occurs at minuscule rates. Yet Congress wants to impose this unnecessary mandate on every state.
And the timing isn’t exactly subtle: right before the midterms the GOP may very well lose.
The SAVE Act isn’t voter security. It’s voter suppression with a patriotic bumper sticker.
So what’s the point? Easy: disenfranchise nearly 80 million of American citizens.
The real issue isn’t non-citizens voting. The real issue is only 64% of Americans voted in 2024.
But sure – let’s make voting harder. That’ll definitely help.
Claudia Looze
Highland