The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or the SAVE Act, would require voters to prove their citizenship through necessary documents like a passport, certified birth certificate, or military ID with proof of U.S. birth to register for federal elections. This legislation passed in the House in April 2025 and if made into law, will create additional barriers for eligible voters. 

According to ABC News, states would not be allowed to process voter registration applications without such proof, and voters would also need to present a government-issued photo ID when casting a ballot in federal elections.

Currently, federal law allows voters to register by signing a sworn statement affirming citizenship, but the SAVE Act would effectively shift the burden to voters to prove citizenship. Though this proposed law has passed through the House of Representatives, it has yet to pass through the Senate. 

For the Trump administration, the main objective of the newly proposed law is to prevent non-citizen voting, but at a cost that would have the most impact on younger voters, voters of color, women whose married name differs from their birth certificate or passport, low-income individuals, and transgender Americans, by obligating them to show in-person proof of citizenship using documents that do not reflect their identity. 

Senate Democrats and civil rights organizations, such as The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, argue the law would suppress minority voters who are less likely to have access to required documents. 

For example, 21 percent of Black Americans and 23 percent of Hispanic Americans lack a driver’s license, compared to only 8 percent of white Americans. Spouses who have undergone a legal name change will also be at risk for further scrutiny of legal documentation when considering as up to 69 million American women have birth certificates that don’t match their present name. 

Purchasing the required documents like passports or birth certificates will create financial barriers for many voters and election officials would face increased workload and legal risk that would cause further strain on state and local election offices from verifying documents under threat of penalties. 

Voting rights advocates warn this could create “bureaucratic hurdles” for millions of Americans whose names differ from their birth certificates by disproportionately affecting marginalized groups and unnecessarily restricting access for millions of eligible voters by requiring in person, document-based proof of citizenship. 

“There are already many people who feel like their vote does not matter, or are already at a disadvantage, and this law would just make it harder on people that already are struggling the most,” Kimberly Ramirez, a first-year student at the University of Iowa, said.

Eliminating online and mail-in voter registration to only in-person visits to local election offices will leave people without access to transportation, especially in more rural areas, at a more significant burden of voting on time. 

According to Head Count, an estimated 21 million eligible voters lack easy access to the required documents, and nearly 4 million have none at all. Many people, such as seniors or those with disabilities, would face costly or time‑consuming trips just to register. 

With tension rising between the Senate and the House of Representatives over the impending passing of this voter suppression legislation, continued awareness among communities of its effects and demand for attention from Congress are crucial towards preserving democracy.