In light of increasing tension surrounding immigration policy and the upcoming mid-term elections, Congress is deliberating over a bill with the power to shift election practices and policy for years to come. The SAVE America Act would require individuals to provide physical documentation of their citizenship when they register to vote. This would deviate from the established practice of swearing one’s citizenship under the penalty of perjury, established by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The NVRA intended to enhance voter turnout and participation by expanding registration access through public offices, mail-in registration, and the DMV. Over the thirty years since its ratification, the NVRA has boosted voter turnout, with the Pew Research Center reflecting a 5% increase in voting participation since 1994. The SAVE America Act, on the other hand, has the potential to reverse many of the NVRA’s accomplishments and restrict voting access for many Americans.
Republican lawmakers in favor of the SAVE America Act have cited concerns about foreign interference in elections, fears of non-citizen voting, and a desire to protect the integrity of elections. House Speaker Mike Johnson stated, “If you have a few thousand illegals participating in an election in the wrong place, you can change the makeup of Congress, and you can affect the presidential election.” Instances of non-citizen voting in elections, as referenced by Speaker Johnson, are incredibly rare. According to several nationwide studies by the Brennan Center for Justice on the issue of non-citizen voting, only between 0.0003% and 0.001% of all votes cast were cast by non-citizens. For this reason, support for the bill might come from ulterior motives.
Mr. David Smock, a social science teacher, offered his thoughts on the act. When asked about the possible impacts of the act going into law, Mr. Smock said that it “will most likely have a suppressive and limiting effect.” He continued: the act could function as a “pragmatic way to drive the [voting] numbers down and in [the Republican Party’s] favor.” Mr. Smock also said that the act will likely have a disproportionate impact on certain groups. “[Supporters of the bill] are aiming for particular voters here and have dialed in who this law will impact.” Mr. Smock’s sentiments are corroborated by the Center for American Progress, which found that as many as 69 million American women’s birth certificates do not match their legal name. This incongruence could complicate the process of proving one’s citizenship. Furthermore, according to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice, roughly 21.3 million Americans do not have immediate access to their birth certificates or passports, with around 4 million Americans lacking some form of the documents entirely. As a result, the regulations and requirements established by the SAVE America Act could result in immense difficulty in registering to vote for millions of Americans in the upcoming midterm elections.
Mr. Smock stated that the act “will definitely get challenged [in the courts]” but acknowledged that it is “hard to say” how that challenge may result in the event the case makes its way to the Supreme Court. The bill passed the House of Representatives on February 11th and is set to be voted on by the Senate. If the bill passes with Trump’s strong support, it will become law and have an immediate impact on the November midterm elections.
