The SAVE Act: A GOP Effort to Suppress Voters and Undermine Our Democracy

Washington, D.C. – Today, Donald Trump doubled-down on shutting down the government over the SAVE Act: a bill that would effectively suppress the votes of American citizens, particularly naturalized citizens and communities of color. Disguised as an election integrity measure, the bill would impose burdensome documentation requirements that would leave millions of eligible voters disenfranchised. Several leading civil rights organizations have voiced their opposition to the bill, with the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights calling it “unnecessary and dangerous.” The GOP House leadership intends to bring the bill for a vote this week.

“The SAVE Act is a dangerous ploy by extremist Republicans, led by Donald Trump, to undermine trust in our democracy and our elections,” said Kerri Talbot, Executive Director of the Immigration Hub. “By pushing false claims of noncitizen voting, they are actively working to block millions of eligible Americans from the ballot box and villainizing innocent immigrant communities to do it. Congress must reject the SAVE Act to protect our elections from partisan manipulation.”

Voting by noncitizens in state and federal elections is already illegal and, as several studies show, extremely rare. Yet, extremist Republicans and right-wing influencers like Elon Musk continue to amplify this and other false conspiracy theories across social media, in political advertisements, and on the campaign trail. While polling shows that the majority of voters see through these falsehoods, the bill reflects a broader strategy by extremist Republicans to use immigrants as pawns in their effort to sow doubt about the integrity of U.S. elections and American democracy.

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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.