Michigan officials have become the latest Democratic figures to publicly slam the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, the GOP’s nationwide proof of citizenship bill that could disenfranchise millions of voters.
“Policies like these are like taking a chainsaw to our democracy,” Michigan Rep. Stephen Wooden (D) said in a press conference Thursday. “And as someone who has used a chainsaw in the past, I know this for a fact. It may get the job done, but it’s going to cause a lot of damage in the process, if you’re not using it right.”
The SAVE Act, which was recently reintroduced in Congress, would require anyone registering to vote in federal elections to provide documentary proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, passport or naturalization certificate.
This will impact people registering to vote for the first time, as well as those who moved to a new address, altered their party affiliation or changed their name and need to re-register or update their information.
One in 10 voting-age citizens, which is over 21 million people, can’t readily access documents to prove their citizenship because they either didn’t have it or can’t access it easily, according to a 2024 survey. This disproportionately impacts voters of color.
The SAVE Act could also disenfranchise millions of married women and transgender individuals whose legal name doesn’t match the one on their birth certificate and don’t have a valid passport.
Currently, around 146 million Americans don’t have a passport, which is nearly half of the country’s population, according to the Center for American Progress — an independent, nonpartisan policy institute.
Also, these citizenship documents must be presented in person at election offices, which would eliminate online and mail-in voter registration. This would hit rural voters who have to travel long distances to election offices the hardest.
“States have invested decades of technological development and resources to ensure that voter registration is accessible to all Americans, but the SAVE Act would rip away these services,” the Center for Progress said in an article on its website.
Democratic officials on the federal and state levels have repeatedly warned about the detrimental impacts of the SAVE Act since it was first introduced in May in the last session of Congress.
The bill passed the House in July but was stymied by the then-Democratic Senate and former President Joe Biden.
At the time, Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) said the bill is about “scaring,” “silencing” and “disenfranchising” Americans, as well as “further damaging the foundations of our democracy.”
Now that the Republican Party controls the Senate and President Donald Trump, an ardent supporter of the SAVE Act and the GOP’s noncitizen voting narrative, is in the White House, the legislation could have more success this time around.
On Thursday, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) held an event alongside state legislators and advocacy groups to spread this message.
“This bill is not about election security. It’s a trick,” Benson said. “The president’s allies in Congress have a plan in motion to block millions of American citizens from casting their ballot in future elections.”
Benson said she and Democratic lawmakers, like Wooden, are working to pass the Michigan Election Security Act, “a plan to protect Michiganders’ right to cast a ballot by improving current laws and codifying existing procedures,” according to a statement.
“I urge any state or federal lawmaker who is truly interested in strengthening the security of our system to work with us on plans like the Michigan Election Security Act instead of mass voter suppression schemes dressed up as security improvements,” Benson said.