Blog Post

How the SAVE Act Could Disenfranchise Millions of Married Women and Trans Voters

The SAVE Act (H.R. 22) is a dangerous and anti-democratic bill that would make it significantly harder for millions of U.S. citizens to vote. The bill was first introduced in response to the repeatedly debunked claims that people who were not U.S. citizens voted in the 2024 elections. Now the House of Representatives is expected to vote on it again soon, putting millions of people’s rights at risk, especially married women and trans people.  

The SAVE Act Takes Voting Identification to a New and Terrifying Level  

While this bill includes a number of horrifying anti-democratic measures, one of the most alarming is its voting identification requirements. Some states already restrict voting by requiring a driver’s license to be able to vote. Under the dystopian SAVE Act, voters will additionally be required to show documented proof of citizenship in person via a restrictive list of acceptable documents, including REAL IDs that include proof of citizenship.  

The only problem is that REAL IDs generally don’t demonstrate proof of citizenship. Similarly, state-issued IDs can be used, but only if they include proof of citizenship, which again, most states do not include.  

A passport will work, but many people don’t have one of those, which means that for tens of millions of voters the SAVE Act would require them to bring both their REAL ID AND proof of citizenship, like a copy of their birth certificate, to register to vote.  

Married Women and Trans People Will Face the Brunt of these Anti-Voting Roadblocks  

Under the SAVE Act, anyone who has changed their name after birth will face increased barriers to voting. That’s because this bill requires voters who don’t have a passport to present a birth certificate that matches the name on their REAL ID or driver’s license. This is particularly relevant for married women who legally change their last name after marriage, and trans people, who will often change their name during or after transitioning.  

That means if you’re one of the approximately 69 million married women in the United States who decided to take her husband’s last name, you may have a really hard time getting into the voting booth since the last name on your birth certificate is different than the REAL ID with your husband’s last name. It’s also extremely harmful for trans people to have to consider changing their I.D.s back to a name and gender they don’t identify with just to exercise their right to vote. 

Why a Passport Isn’t the Magic Solution  

One way around this nonsense is to obtain a passport, which includes your current name and provides proof of citizenship. But not everyone has a passport. In fact, more than 50% of people in the United States do not have one. Therefore, requiring passports to verify citizenship would add another bureaucratic and expensive step to vote since it requires a complex application process with a hefty fee. 

And as with nearly all voter suppression laws, the SAVE Act’s identification requirements would disproportionately harm those who already face disenfranchisement and discrimination. People with lower incomes or less education are far less likely to have a valid passport or the means to obtain one. This especially impacts women and trans people, who already face higher poverty rates 

• In 2023, the poverty rate for women was 11.0% compared to 8.8% for men.  
• Black, Latina, and Native American women experience poverty at more than twice the rate of white, non-Hispanic men. 
• Trans people are twice as likely to live in poverty compared to the general U.S. population. 

These barriers are even worse for trans people as it is increasingly more difficult for them to obtain appropriate passports that accurately reflect their legal name and gender under this new administration. 

In Conclusion – The SAVE Act Is Extraordinarily Stupid and Exceedingly Dangerous 

To be crystal clear: this bill could disenfranchise 21.3 million eligible voters who don’t have the required documents ready, and it would particularly impact married women and trans people—all in order to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. Hordes of noncitizens voting in federal elections is a myth. There is zero credible evidence that this happens in any significant numbers. Furthermore, it’s already illegal—any noncitizen caught voting would be breaking the law. 

The SAVE Act isn’t about election integrity; it’s about making it harder for specific groups of people to vote, like women and trans people. It’s voter suppression that perpetuates anti-immigrant misinformation. 

We must oppose this bill, similar state-level bills, and efforts by President Trump to enact similar requirements through executive order, and fight to protect the fundamental right to vote for all U.S. citizens.