On Thursday, April 10, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act (H.R. 22), a voter suppression measure that, if it became law, could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters and significantly undermine U.S. democracy.
This bill would hinder millions of eligible Americans from registering to vote by requiring citizens to present a birth certificate or passport in person to register.
More than 21.3 million Americans lack immediate access to documentary proof of citizenship. Some Americans are more likely than others to lack these documents, including elderly and younger voters, American Indian and Alaska Native voters, and the millions of married individuals who changed their names, causing their documents to not match.
The SAVE Act would force Native voters living in rural or remote areas to travel great distances to register to vote by effectively eliminating popular methods of voter registration, including online and mail registration, as well as voter registration drives. American Indian and Alaskan Natives living in rural and remote areas often have to travel over 100 miles to reach their designated election office.
According to the Native American Rights Fund, when Kansas and Arizona implemented similar “show your papers” laws, they blocked tens of thousands of eligible American citizens from registering to vote. Arizona’s law has blocked about 35,000 voters from voting in state and local elections, including disproportionately high numbers of voters who live on Tribal lands or college campuses. The SAVE Act, which is even more restrictive, will block even more Native voters from participating in federal elections as well.
Voting is an important act of citizenship. The 1924 Indian Citizenship Act ensured that American Indians and Alaska Natives would have the right to vote. Native people exercise that right, along with their fellow citizens to promote the well-being, security, and prosperity of all citizens. For that reason, and many more, we call upon our allies and supporters to contact Congress to stop the SAVE Act and protect democracy for all American citizens.
Please call your senators today and ask them to vote NO on S. 128, the SAVE Act.
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY, ZIP]. I’m calling to demand that [SEN NAME] oppose S. 128, the SAVE Act, which will create unnecessary barriers to voter registration and disenfranchise countless voters, especially American Indian and Alaska Natives, women, seniors, and low-income citizens. This bill is designed to block voters despite no real evidence of widespread fraud. [SEN NAME] must vote against it.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
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