Call to Action: Urge Congress to Stand Against the SAVE America Act

Political structures and electoral systems should be designed to maximize participation of and provide equitable access to all citizens in a society.

What is the SAVE America Act?

  • The SAVE America Act is federal legislation that would change voter registration processes. It was passed in the House of Representatives on February 11, 2026, and is now awaiting a vote in the U.S. Senate.
  • Although noncitizen voting is already prohibited by federal law and exceedingly rare, the SAVE America Act would require citizens to appear in person and provide documentary proof of citizenship to register or re-register to vote. 
  • The bill would also require all voters to present photo ID in order to cast a ballot.

What to know about documentary proof of citizenship:

  • Most government-issued IDs -- including most REAL IDs -- are not proof of citizenship. Only five states (MI, MN, NY, VT, and WA) issue enhanced driver's licenses that serve as both proof of identity and proof of citizenship.
  • Most voters would need to present a certified birth certificate with their government-issued photo ID to prove citizenship. Certified birth certificates can be costly and time consuming to procure. 
  • For those whose birth name no longer matches their current name, a marriage license or affidavit would be required in addition to the ID card and birth certificate. 
  • A valid passport could be used as documentary proof of citizenship, but only around 43% of Americans currently hold a passport.

It is crucial to prevent what promises to be a landslide of issues for states and individuals if the SAVE America Act passes. Please contact your senators with a personalized and brief letter highlighting two or three of the points below.

  • It may disproportionately hinder a number of actual citizens from registering to vote. 
  • It would eliminate the benefits of mail-in voter registration since voters must present documentary proof of citizenship in person.
  • It imposes criminal penalties for elections officials who register voters without documentary proof of citizenship, meaning elections officials could be more likely to reject registrations when they are in doubt.
  • All provisions of the SAVE America Act would be effective immediately if the bill is signed into law. Elections officials would have no time or funding to update systems and train personnel before the next election. 
  • It places an unfunded burden on states to organize and fund new systems to gather and safely store the large amounts of confidential data.
  • It undermines election systems by codifying conspiracy theories of widespread noncitizen voting, which simply does not exist. 
  • A law against noncitizen voting already exists and comes with severe penalties for breaking it, including fines and jail time. Scores of data show that state and federal voting systems work well, with few instances of noncitizen voting. The bill would disrupt a voting registration system that has long been upheld for its accuracy and efficiency. 

Would you like more talking points? Check out our Learn More section below. 

Finally, we invite you to follow up with a quick phone call to your legislators. If you tap the phone icon, it will auto generate the phone numbers for each of your legislators along with helpful tips and talking points.