SAVE Act would make voting harder for spouses who changed names
The SAVE Act aims to keep non-citizens from voting, but also could make it more difficult for married people to cast their vote.
WASHINGTON – Dozens of states across the country are considering their own versions of a federal voting bill critics say could disenfranchise millions of Americans, including many married women.
Republican lawmakers in 24 states introduced measures requiring people to prove their citizenship, using documents such as birth certificates or passports, when they register to vote, according to the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab. Three other states – Louisiana, New Hampshire and Wyoming – have enacted similar laws in recent months.
Supporters call the efforts a security measure and say they’re trying to reinforce laws barring noncitizens from voting. But voting rights advocates argue it’s already exceedingly rare for noncitizens to vote – and the laws could make it more difficult for millions of Americans to cast a ballot.
Opponents are particularly concerned the requirements will hit rural communities, military personnel and married women. About 83% of married women changed their name, and for many that means their birth certificates don’t match their current ID.
In Washington, legislation dubbed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act passed the House of Representatives in early April, but it faces an uphill battle in the closely divided Senate.
The SAVE Act and the state legislation across the country all have slightly different requirements when it comes to what documents could be used to prove citizenship. Here’s what to know.
States with existing rules
New Hampshire
New Hampshire in March held its first elections since it implemented a new voter registration law last year that’s stricter about what ID you can use. It’s among the only states where such a law has been in effect during an election season.
More than 95 people were turned away from voting in town elections due to the new documentation law, according to research from the New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights, a subsidiary of the progressive group America Votes.
Other residents said they struggled to register to vote and cast a ballot in the March 11 local election because of the law.
Betsy Spencer, a 70-year-old resident of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, told New Hampshire Public Radio she was prepared with multiple documents when she showed up to vote but was initially turned away because she didn’t have her married name on her birth certificate.
Her situation is among the key concerns voting rights groups have about proof of citizenship laws.
Married women who changed their last name may be required to bring extra documentation, such as a marriage license, to prove their citizenship in New Hampshire and other states that enact similar laws.
The New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office declined to comment on the legislation when reached for this story.
Arizona
Arizona voters are already required to prove their citizenship to vote in state and local races. In fact, the SAVE Act mirrors laws on the books in the Grand Canyon State, the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
Voters in the state aren’t required to do the same in federal contests because the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 blocks most states from confirming citizenship in national elections. New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Idaho, Wyoming and North Dakota are the only states exempt from that rule.
Wyoming
Wyoming passed its law based on the SAVE Act on March 21. Starting July 1, the state will require residents to provide one of several documents to prove their citizenship status, including a driver’s license indicating citizenship, a U.S. passport, a birth certificate, military draft records, a tribal identification card or a certificate of citizenship.
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray described it as “commonsense election integrity legislation,” in a statement after its passage.
Five states – Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington – currently have enhanced driver’s licenses that can serve as proof of citizenship, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Wyoming is considering legislation that would require U.S. immigrants in the country with the proper documentation to have a demarcation on their state-issued ID stating they are “not a United States citizen,” but it’s not yet law.
Louisiana
Louisiana’s law went into effect Jan. 1 requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, but the state hasn’t issued guidance on what documentation residents need. It’s not yet clear how it will handle citizenship requirements for federal elections.
States to watch
Texas
One of the strictest proof of citizenship bills in the country is quickly moving through the Texas legislature. The state’s Senate approved the proposal, which is modeled after Arizona’s law, on April 1. The bill needs the approval of the state House and the signature of the state’s Republican governor to become law.
Texas’ legislation would retroactively apply to people already registered to vote, not just new voters. If it’s enacted, voters would need to provide proof of citizenship to participate in presidential elections and state and local races, though some of the requirements are likely to be challenged in court.
“Texas, in addition to being the second most populous state in the country, it is also one of the states that’s really fast-tracked documented proof of citizenship legislation following Trump’s executive order,” said Liz Avore, a senior policy advisor at the Voting Rights Lab.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year establishing new national voter identification requirements. A federal judge on April 24 temporarily blocked the policy from going into effect after multiple groups sued the administration alleging that it lacked the power to issue the order.
An analysis from the Voting Rights lab of U.S. State Department data found that more than 12 million of the roughly 31 million people living in Texas do not have a passport, one of the main forms of citizenship documentation, Avore said. That’s close to 40% of the state population.
Michigan
GOP state lawmakers in Michigan are pushing for a constitutional amendment that would require those registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship. Michigan is among the few states where drivers’ licenses could fulfill this requirement.
The amendment proposal passed a state House committee but has yet to be taken up for a floor vote in the chamber. It’s likely to face tough odds in the Democratic-led state Senate.
Supporters of the constitutional amendment have also launched a separate ballot initiative effort. The state’s election board recently cleared the way for organizers to begin collecting the hundreds of thousands of signatures they would need to put the amendment up for a vote in 2026.
Still, GOP state Rep. Bryan Posthumus, who represents the area north of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and introduced the voter ID measure, told USA TODAY April 22 getting it on the ballot will be a “steep hill to climb.”
Missouri
A Missouri bill along the lines of efforts in Michigan and other states passed out of a state Senate committee at the beginning of March but has yet to be taken up for a vote.
The author of the legislation, state Sen. Ben Brown, said the proposal could be tacked on as an amendment to other election-related bills this session. But he said it is “getting pretty late” in the current legislative calendar to take action: It’s not impossible for it to pass in the coming months, but it is becoming increasingly unlikely.
States that have introduced legislation
Legislators in more than a dozen states, including Democratic strongholds, have introduced bills that mirror the SAVE Act. Many are in the early stages of consideration, including: