Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, joined by a coalition of 18 attorneys general, today sent a letter to congressional leadership opposing H.R. 22, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. Raoul and the coalition argue the proposed legislation would create unnecessary and burdensome proof of citizenship requirements that would disenfranchise millions of eligible voters across the country.
The SAVE Act would amend the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship before registering to vote. Raoul and the attorneys general emphasize this requirement would reverse three decades of progress made under the NVRA, which was designed to remove barriers to voter registration and promote greater participation in the democratic process.
“I am urging congressional leadership to oppose the SAVE Act and maintain accessible voting rights for all eligible Americans. We should focus efforts on encouraging more Americans to participate in the democratic process. This measure does the opposite, instead of disenfranchising legitimate voters,” Raoul said. “I am proud to join other attorneys general to protect voters’ rights and ensure that eligible voters are not met with obstacles when they attempt to exercise their constitutional right to vote.”
Raoul and the coalition’s letter emphasizes that non-citizen voting is extremely rare, as studies show that only 0.0001% of votes cast in jurisdictions with high immigration populations were cast by non-citizens. Despite this negligible risk, the SAVE Act would impose substantial burdens on eligible voters, particularly affecting poor and minority communities.
Raoul and the attorneys general warn the legislation would create significant obstacles for eligible voters, such as:
The letter highlights that over 21 million voting-age citizens do not have ready access to a passport, birth record or naturalization record. In addition, 80% of married women would not have a valid birth certificate under the SAVE Act because those women chose to adopt their partner’s last name. The letter also includes concerns about the substantial administrative and financial burdens the act would place on state election systems. The legislation would require states to restructure voter registration procedures and create new systems for document verification, while criminalizing mistakes made by election officials with penalties of up to five years in prison.
Joining Attorney General Raoul in sending this letter are the attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
