SAVE Act Passage in the House Denounced by Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC
- Contact
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives voted to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a dangerous piece of legislation that creates barriers to voting for millions of Americans. The act requires individuals to show documentary proof of citizenship such as a passport or birth certificate, to register or re-register to vote with the goal of preventing noncitizen voting in federal elections – something that is exceedingly rare because it is already illegal.
John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, issues the following statement:
“We are dismayed by the House’s decision to advance the misnamed SAVE Act, which is an unwarranted attack on voting rights for all who are eligible. In reality, the SAVE Act exploits divisive claims about voter fraud to undermine the democratic process and villainize immigrant communities. And while it aims to target noncitizens, it will make registering to vote significantly more difficult for the over 21 million Americans who do not have ready access to the required forms of identification.
“Additionally, the SAVE Act’s mandate for states to purge voter rolls of noncitizens is an error-prone process due to outdated information in many state and federal databases. It will disproportionately harm communities of color, including Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI), especially the nearly 50% who are naturalized. Let’s call the SAVE Act what it actually is: fraudulent fearmongering designed to exclude voters who are considered unfavorable.
“We already know that requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote doesn’t work. Past attempts to require proof of citizenship to vote and remove suspected noncitizens from voter rolls at the state level erroneously blocked thousands of eligible voters from exercising that right. While this outcome is disappointing, we will continue working to defend the right of all eligible Americans to show up at the ballot box.”