Rigging Democracy: How the SAVE Act Steals Votes While Solving Nothing
A voter suppression law built on lies, designed to keep power in the hands of the few
Millions of eligible voters in the United States face hurdles when casting their ballots. Long lines, restrictive voter ID laws, and bureaucratic red tape make the process more difficult than it should be. Now, with the introduction of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, Republican lawmakers are pushing to add yet another obstacle, one that disproportionately impacts women, low-income individuals, and rural voters, while claiming to solve a problem that doesn’t even exist.
The SAVE Act would require all new voter registrants to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers. While this may sound reasonable on the surface, it creates a massive barrier to voting for millions of eligible Americans. Even worse, the law is based on a lie. Study after study has shown that non-citizen voting is virtually nonexistent. This legislation is nothing more than a politically motivated voter suppression tactic disguised as election security.
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The Myth of Non-Citizen Voting
The Republican argument for the SAVE Act hinges on the false premise that non-citizens are voting in federal elections in significant numbers. However, the facts tell a different story. A comprehensive study by the Brennan Center for Justice found that fraudulent voting by non-citizens occurs at a rate of 0.0001%—an almost nonexistent figure. Even Republican-led investigations, including those conducted under the Trump administration, failed to uncover any widespread illegal voting by non-citizens.
If non-citizen voting isn’t a problem, why introduce a law to stop it? The answer is clear: this isn’t about election security—it’s about making it harder for certain groups of people to vote.
Who Pays the Price? Women, Low-Income, and Rural Americans
For millions of eligible voters, proving citizenship isn’t as simple as pulling a passport out of a drawer. Consider the financial burden of obtaining these documents:
Passports cost at least $165, a steep price for low-income Americans who struggle to pay rent or put food on the table.
Birth certificates cost between $10 and $50; obtaining certified copies requires time and effort.
Marriage certificates and divorce decrees—often required for women who changed their names—can add $15 to $30 per document to the financial burden.
Many rural voters live hours away from government offices where they can obtain these documents, meaning gas, transportation, and lost wages become additional costs.
For women, particularly those who have changed their names due to marriage or divorce, the process is even more complicated. Suppose a woman’s birth certificate doesn’t match her current legal name. In that case, she must provide a chain of documents, including marriage licenses, divorce decrees, or court orders, to prove her identity. This is an undue burden that men, who are far less likely to change their names, largely do not face.
Rural voters, many of whom already struggle with access to DMVs and passport offices, will be hit especially hard. Not everyone has a passport, nor can they easily obtain one. Many Americans have never needed one, and for those in poverty-stricken areas or living paycheck to paycheck, spending hundreds of dollars on documents to vote is not an option.
A Massive Bureaucratic & Financial Burden
The costs of the SAVE Act don’t just fall on voters. State governments must spend millions of taxpayer dollars to implement this unnecessary law. Here’s what’s required:
Election offices will need new technology, staff training, and updated systems to verify citizenship documentation.
States will need to conduct frequent voter roll purges, which have historically resulted in mistakenly removing eligible voters.
DMVs and passport offices will see a massive influx of people trying to obtain documents, leading to wait times and increased costs.
All of this will cost millions. And for what? To prevent a handful of non-existent illegal votes while creating a real and significant obstacle for millions of actual American citizens?
Who Benefits?
The answer is simple: Republicans want fewer people to vote. Historically, voter suppression efforts disproportionately affect Democratic-leaning groups—young people, minorities, low-income voters, and urban residents. By making it harder for these populations to register, the GOP increases its chances of winning elections without having to gain more voter support.
Wealthier Americans, who already have passports, access to legal resources, and flexible work schedules, will barely notice these changes. Meanwhile, the working-class single mother who doesn’t have time to visit a government office will lose her right to vote.
The Bottom Line
The SAVE Act isn’t about protecting elections. It’s about shrinking democracy. It’s a direct attack on the rights of women, low-income individuals, and rural Americans, disguised as a defense against a fraud problem that does not exist.
If lawmakers were genuinely concerned about election integrity, they would focus on expanding access to voting, modernizing registration systems, and improving election security in ways that don’t suppress voters. Instead, they are manufacturing fear and creating roadblocks that disproportionately harm the most vulnerable Americans.
Democracy is strongest when more people participate, not fewer. The SAVE Act is a cynical ploy to rig the system in favor of those already in power, and every American, regardless of political affiliation, should fight against it.
Sources on Voter Fraud & the SAVE Act
Brennan Center for Justice. "The Truth About Voter Fraud."
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/truth-about-voter-fraudThe Guardian. "Trump voter fraud claims undermined by Republican-led inquiry in Michigan."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/14/trump-voter-fraud-claims-republican-studyCongress.gov. "H.R.8281 - SAVE Act."
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8281Campaign Legal Center. "What You Need to Know About the SAVE Act."
https://campaignlegal.org/update/what-you-need-know-about-save-actAmerican Progress. "The SAVE Act Would Disenfranchise Millions of Citizens."
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-save-act-would-disenfranchise-millions-of-citizensMigration Policy Institute. "Explainer: Noncitizen Voting in U.S. Elections."
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/content/noncitizen-voting-us-elections
Sources on Voter Suppression & Disenfranchisement
FiveThirtyEight. "Voter ID Laws Suppress Minority Votes."
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/voter-id-laws-suppress-minority-voteBrennan Center for Justice. "The Cost of Voter ID Laws: What the Courts Say."
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/cost-voter-id-lawsPew Charitable Trusts. "Rural Voters Face Challenges Getting IDs for Voting."
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2017/12/21/rural-voters-face-challenges-getting-ids-for-votingThe Atlantic. "The Problem With Voter ID Laws Isn't Voter ID."
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/voter-id-laws/483372
Sources on the Cost & Burden of ID Requirements
U.S. Department of State. "Passport Fees."
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/apply-for-a-passport/fees.htmlCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. "Where to Write for Vital Records."
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/index.htmUSA.gov. "Replace Your Vital Records."
https://www.usa.gov/replace-vital-documentsDepartment of Homeland Security. "REAL ID Frequently Asked Questions."
https://www.dhs.gov/real-id/real-id-faqs
Sources on Republican Election Strategies & Misinformation
NPR. "6 Facts About False Noncitizen Voting Claims and the Election."
https://www.npr.org/2024/10/12/nx-s1-5147789/voting-election-2024-noncitizen-fact-check-trumpABC News. "Noncitizens can't vote, and instances are 'vanishingly rare'."
https://abcnews.go.com/US/election-fact-check-noncitizens-vote-instances-vanishingly-rare/story?id=115025674Reuters. "Noncitizen voters a rarity in US elections, state and private reviews show."
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/noncitizen-voters-rarity-us-elections-state-private-reviews-show-2024-10-03New York Magazine. "Georgia Audit Exposes Trump's Noncitizen Voting Hoax."
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/georgia-audit-exposes-trumps-noncitizen-voting-hoax.htmlNew Yorker. "How Trump Hopes to Exploit the Myth of Voter Fraud in November."
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/09/30/how-trump-hopes-to-exploit-the-myth-of-voter-fraud-in-novemberWired. "Anti-Immigrant Election Deniers Have Turned Their Online Following Into an Army of Activists."
https://www.wired.com/story/election-deniers-trump-anti-immigrant-voting
The Republican party has been skewing the American elections by voter suppression and gerrymandering. The Republican party would lose a fair election.
Phucking Republicans suck. I am so tired or their bull$hit. It's far time for Democrats to grow balls and fight the good fight. Now more than ever we need more voters because we are witnessing first hand what happens when people stay home because they refused to vote for either candidate. That is utter $ullshit logic!!!