Safeguarding Voting

Attention all women, Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC), Naturalized American citizens, and trans-people.

Are you tired of having to listen to political speeches drone on and on about how awful the opposing candidate is for your state or country? Has it become a hassle to conduct your own research on all running candidates for an elected office? Wouldn’t you rather just breeze through your life without worrying about the political direction of your state or country? Well, fear no more! The US Republican party has a solution for you. Introducing the SAVE Act, short for Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.

The bill, if passed into law, will require every voter to prove their American citizenship. Mail-in registration may no longer be acceptable. Those who decide to register may need to meet in-person with an Office of Elections official to prove their citizenship with a birth certificate, passport, or REAL ID. Any other form of identification will require a birth certificate for verification. Even at the polls, voters may be required to bring documentation of citizenship since voting will be strictly limited to in-person voting. So, avoid all the hassle of voting and skip trying to prove your citizenship. Leave it up to those who can afford passports and actually hold their birth certificates with them. Go, Republicans.

On April 10, 2025, the Republican House of Representatives (with the help of four Democrats) passed the SAVE Act, a bill which could be detrimental to millions of American voters. Let me begin with I read the 26-page bill with a pen in my hand to mark up areas that are floating around the internet. I wanted to understand the intent of the bill prior to writing this piece. The intent is to protect our election process and ensure we take part in a fair and just election process. The Republican party continues to claim election fraud each time the results do not swing in their favor. Their claims usually point to immigrants voting and this bill will ensure every voter is a citizen of the United States (born and raised). Every voter, upon registration, would need to provide evidence of citizenship. The only acceptable evidence is birth certificates, REAL ID (in some states) or passports. These documents will need to be reviewed by a government official in-person. Once accepted, a person may vote. On election day, voters may still be required to bring from of identification, and it is unclear if a state ID will suffice. The bill does not state that the legal last name on the birth certificate needs to match the legal name on state issued ID. Many people believe married women will lose their right to vote because their name no longer matches their birth certificate. This is a valid concern, especially depending on which state you live in. There may be other requirements for married women to vote (i.e. showing marriage certificate, or name change documentation, etc). Voters who are organized enough have those documents ready, and will experience very little difficulty in registering to vote.

The detrimental effects of this bill will mostly target BIPOC, people who have been granted citizenship, and trans-people. Red states, which are notorious for voter suppression, may deny documents from BIPOC married women since names do not match, or make it difficult for BIPOC to prove their citizen by placing locations outside of their community (similar to what they have done with voting polls). People granted citizenship from other counties can be denied voting right because their birth place is out of country. Finally, trans-people may lose their right to vote because their legal name no longer matches the name written on their birth certificate (and in republican states, it is almost impossible to amend your birth certificate). This is the true intent of the bill, to limit voting rights to those who can afford the “privilege” to vote. According to the constitution, there have been many amendments to voting rights, guaranteeing the right to vote for all US citizens. States are required to provide voting access to all citizens. This bill could restrict the rights of citizens under the guise of safeguarding our elections, which is unconstitutional.

The bill moves to the Senate House, falling into the hands of our state senators to vote to pass or reject the bill. It will require 60 votes to pass, which the senate republicans do not have. What you can do is contact your state senator and urge them to vote against H.R. 22. the most effective method to have your voice heard is to call you senator, mention your name, where you live and express why you are against this bill. You may leave a voice message, recording your concern to your senator. Hopefully, there will be enough people against the bill to knock sense in Republican senators.

You can read the bill here: H.R. 22