I am writing to express my strong opposition to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which under the guise of election security, threatens to disenfranchise millions of Americans—particularly women, transgender individuals, and other marginalized communities. This legislation is not about protecting democracy; rather, it is a direct attack on the right to vote.
The SAVE Act’s documentation requirements will disproportionately impact:
• Women who have changed their names due to marriage or divorce, forcing them to navigate bureaucratic hurdles to obtain citizenship documentation that matches their legal identity. This places an undue burden on women that men are far less likely to face, undermining women’s suffrage.
• Transgender and nonbinary individuals, who already struggle with document discrepancies due to restrictive state laws on gender marker changes. This bill further marginalizes them by requiring paperwork that may be difficult or impossible to obtain.
• Low-income and elderly voters, many of whom lack immediate access to birth certificates or passports and would face significant delays in obtaining them, creating a modern-day poll tax.
• Voters who rely on mail or online registration, particularly those in rural areas, with disabilities, or in domestic violence situations. Requiring in-person registration adds unnecessary barriers that disproportionately harm these groups.
Additionally, the bill promotes voter roll purges, which have historically led to the wrongful removal of eligible voters. Election workers could also face harsh criminal penalties for unintentional errors, discouraging participation in the election process and destabilizing our democracy.
Your Constitutional Duty
As an elected official, you took an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect the rights of all Americans. The SAVE Act violates the 14th and 15th Amendments, which guarantee equal protection and voting rights. Women and marginalized communities make up a significant portion of your constituency, and any support for this bill will be remembered at the ballot box.
This legislation is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt at voter suppression. I urge you to oppose the SAVE Act and support policies that expand voting rights rather than restrict them. I expect a response outlining your position and actions to prevent its passage.
First sent on February 12 by Elizabeth
