U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative:
On behalf of the members of the National Education Association, educators who work to instill in students respect for our shared democratic values, we urge you to vote NO on the SAVE Act, H.R. 22. Votes related to this issue may be included in the NEA Report Card for the 119th Congress.
The so-called—and extreme—“Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act” imposes unnecessary and burdensome documentary proof-of citizenship requirements (DPOC) on Americans and will make it much more difficult for millions of citizens to register to vote. The legislation ignores the fact that existing federal law makes it clear that only U.S. citizens may vote in federal and state elections and gives states the responsibility to determine how to meet this requirement.
Under the legislation, most people would have to provide a passport, a birth certificate, or naturalization papers in person at an election office to register to vote and each time they update their registration. Election workers could face civil and criminal penalties for registering someone who does not provide any of these documents. The bill’s requirements could nullify common state-run practices that have helped increase the number of registered voters, such as mail-in and online voter registration.
According to a 2024 report by the Institute for Responsive Governing, 55 percent of voter registrations in 2022 occurred at motor vehicles offices. The National Council of State Legislatures reports that 42 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, and the Virgin Islands currently offer online voter registration. Hindering, or even worse, eliminating, these methods would lead to less participation in voting and therefore less engagement with democracy.
The SAVE Act would disenfranchise more than 21 million Americans who do not have ready access to proof-of citizenship documents, including:
- Married women and others who have changed their names and therefore do not have documents that match their current legal name;
- Lower-income Americans who are less likely to have passports;
- Residents of rural areas, people with disabilities, or older people who may live far from state elections offices or face other challenges and rely on online or mail-in voter registration; and
- Eligible voters who are hospitalized or for other reasons cannot show up to register in person.
The SAVE Act would also deeply harm voter registration drives across America. These crucial efforts enhance civic engagement and are undertakings that our society has—up to now—taken great pride in and even encouraged. Especially in communities of color, the drives, often sponsored by schools, churches, and civic and fraternal organizations, hold a special significance. They are a pragmatic way of increasing voter participation and a celebration of the sacrifices past generations of Americans have made to broaden access to voting.
Furthermore, the legislation is based on the faulty premise that noncitizens routinely and casually vote in statewide and federal elections, although numerous studies and investigations have disproven this. In an analysis of data compiled from 1999 to 2023, the Bipartisan Policy Center found 77 total instances in which noncitizens had voted. The Brennan Center for Justice, in an analysis of more than 23 million votes cast in 2016, found approximately 30 instances of noncitizens voting. Says the Brennan Center: “It is not surprising that noncitizen voting is rare. In addition to prison and massive fines, a noncitizen would risk deportation or derailing their naturalization process.”
The SAVE Act is a solution in search of a nonexistent problem, threatening to turn back decades of progress in expanding access to the polls and state-level efforts to modernize voter registration. Bolstering opportunities to vote symbolized our democracy in the 20th century; today, ensuring that all who are eligible may participate equally in voting symbolizes our defense of democracy. We urge you to vote NO on the SAVE Act.
Sincerely,
Marc Egan
Director of Government Relations
National Education Association
