OPINION: SAVE Act Searches for a Problem to Save Us From

By Jessica I. Martínez, Esq., Director of Policy and Coalition Building at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center  

This op-ed was originally published by the Albuquerque Journal on July 14, 2024. Read the original op-ed here.

It’s clear that our democracy is on the ballot this election season, but House Republicans aren’t waiting for November to attempt to disenfranchise millions of US citizens, including potentially thousands of elders and Indigenous family members in New Mexico whose voices have so often been neglected and ignored. 

House Republicans have introduced the Project 2025-inspired Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. This so-called “Safeguard” is yet another misguided effort that risks undermining the very foundation of our democracy. Disguised as safeguarding voter integrity, the SAVE Act's true impact would create new barriers to voting, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable citizens in the United States. 

First and foremost, the United States already has stringent laws in place to prevent noncitizens from voting in elections. Voters are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering to vote, making the Act's additional requirement for citizenship documentation redundant, unnecessary, and designed to disenfranchise voters. This bill is not about preventing voter fraud—which studies have repeatedly shown to be exceedingly rare—but about suppressing voter turnout and discouraging participation in our democratic process. I’m grateful that all of our US House Representatives stood up for all New Mexicans by opposing this undemocratic and unnecessary legislation. 

Under the SAVE Act, millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands in New Mexico, would find it more difficult, if not impossible, to register to vote. We would not be able to use our driver’s license or other state-provided identification alone, including our REAL ID cards. This also includes citizens with military IDs, Native Americans with Tribal IDs, and people without easy access to their birth certificates or a passport. Millions of people who have changed their name after getting married would also face additional barriers to voting–even a birth certificate would not suffice as proof of citizenship if the names are not identical. These provisions will apply to all new registrants across the United States—including already-registered voters who update their registration as the result of a move, a name change, or a party switch. 

The SAVE Act is a troubling example of federal overreach into New Mexico’s award-winning election administration. The bill undermines the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and disregards states’ autonomy to manage their voter registration processes. This federal takeover would also gut mail and online voter registration by disallowing states from accepting applications unless applicants present documents in person. This move would disenfranchise countless voters who rely on these convenient and accessible methods to register, particularly in rural areas or among those with limited mobility. 

In states like New Mexico with same-day voter registration, citizens would be required to bring a passport or birth certificate to the polling place if they intend to register and vote on the same day. This provision is likely to cause chaos at polling places, as most voters do not carry their passports or birth certificates when they go to vote. Furthermore, the SAVE Act would lead to purges of eligible voters for those who registered with a government-issued ID that did not specify citizenship status, exacerbating the risk of disenfranchisement. 

The bill also imposes unrealistic demands on federal agencies, requiring them to respond to citizenship data requests from state governments within 24 hours. This impossible timeline is bound to result in errors and further strain on already overburdened federal agencies. 

The SAVE Act is not about protecting the integrity of our elections; it is about using hateful rhetoric to demonize immigrants and create unnecessary obstacles to voting. With only months to go before the next election, Congress should focus on strengthening protections against discrimination in voting and expanding access to the ballot.