The SAVE Act is Voter Suppression.
The SAVE Act, which has passed the House and has been received in the Senate, would disenfranchise millions of voters. It is voter suppression. This act would require all citizens either registering to vote or updating their registration information to present documentary proof of citizenship in person. For the majority of Americans, this would require a birth certificate or passport. A driver’s license, Real ID or other government-issued identification card would not satisfy the requirements.
Although supporters claim this is to keep those illegally in the country from voting in federal elections, that is already illegal.
About 80% of women in the U.S. who marry have changed their surname. That means an astounding 69 million U.S. women do not have a birth certificate reflecting their legal name. That means that 69 million voters would be unable to use their birth certificate to prove citizenship to register to vote, an unnecessary and undue burden. Others who have changed their names must comply as well.
The act would also create an undue burden on low-income voters by requiring them to purchase a birth certificate or a passport to vote, even though they have voted for years. Birth certificates are not free or simple to obtain, and passports can cost a couple hundred dollars. It would create an undue burden on disabled voters, senior voters, student voters and rural voters, by requiring them to travel in order to register or update their voter registration in person, rather than by mail or online.
The SAVE Act would impact survivors of domestic violence. Many survivors change their name for personal safety while their birth certificate may still reflect their given name. To vote, a survivor would need to go back to their birth name, potentially endangering them and their family.
The SAVE Act would negatively change the way we currently vote in Illinois and around the country — greatly hampering or eliminating online and mail-in voter registration and eliminating voter registration drives.
Every Illinois Democratic member of Congress voted against the SAVE Act, and we know our two senators will do the same. Please thank them.
However, downstate Republican U.S. Reps. Mike Bost, Mary Miller and Darin LaHood all voted in favor of the measure. Let them know how you feel.
Laura R. Welch, president, Illinois National Organization for Women
Chicago Tribune, April 30, 2025
