Dear Representative:
On behalf of the 63 affiliated unions of the AFL-CIO, I write to express our strong opposition to H.R. 22, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. Mandating documentation of citizenship to vote, despite the fact that federal laws already prohibit noncitizen voting and there is no evidence of widespread fraud, will have the effect of suppressing voter registration and less participation by U.S. citizens in their own democracy.
The SAVE Act creates unnecessary barriers to voter participation, especially for marginalized communities who may struggle to obtain additional layers of documentation. It limits acceptable IDs to passports, excluding others like REAL ID driver's licenses and military IDs unless coupled with additional documentation such as a birth certificate. This places an extreme burden on many Americans, including military personnel, Native Americans, those who have changed their names (particularly women), the elderly, the young, and the poor.
To be blunt, this bill makes it harder to vote if you only ever vacation in the United States, at, say, Ocean City, Maryland, or Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, compared to those who holiday in the Caribbean or take frequent business trips to Europe and Asia. Not every American has had a reason to apply for a passport.
Just to underscore the voter suppression, the bill threatens prison for election officials who register U.S. citizens to vote without the precisely required documented proof of citizenship. It also mandates the already overburdened Social Security Administration to verify voter citizenship information for states without providing additional funding.
Moreover, the bill relies on third-party databases to verify citizenship and mandates frequent voter roll purges, which can erroneously disenfranchise U.S. citizens due to administrative errors and unreliable data sources.
In short, the SAVE Act functions to deny Americans access to their democracy, not improve election integrity. Congress must safeguard free and fair elections by opposing the SAVE Act and supporting measures that make it easier for U.S. citizens to vote in elections, not harder.
Sincerely,
Jody Calemine
Director, Government Affairs