Attorney General James Leads Multistate Coalition Urging Senate to Reject Extremist SAVE America Act

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today led a coalition of 11 other attorneys general in urging the U.S. Senate to reject the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, warning that the legislation would unlawfully nationalize election administration, impose sweeping new barriers to voter registration, and disenfranchise millions of eligible Americans. If enacted, the SAVE America Act would require Americans to present documentary proof of citizenship in person to register or update their voter information, effectively eliminating online, mail-in, and automatic voter registration nationwide. In today’s letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the legislation is an unprecedented power grab that would strip states of their long-recognized authority over elections and dismantle modern voter registration systems that voters and election officials across the country rely on.

“The right to vote in free and fair elections has long been a critical part of our democracy,” said Attorney General James. “The SAVE America Act is an unconstitutional power grab that would dismantle modern voter registration systems and block millions of eligible Americans from the ballot box. Congress cannot invent a problem to justify stripping states of their authority and disenfranchising lawful voters.”

Attorney General James and the coalition warn that the SAVE America Act would eliminate online voter registration processes used by most states, as well as mail-in registration relied upon by service members and overseas voters. The legislation would also cripple automatic voter registration systems that help keep voter rolls accurate and secure. As a result, the attorneys general argue, the SAVE America Act would disproportionately harm working-class Americans, rural voters, young people, and people whose legal names no longer match their birth certificates. An estimated 21 million voting-age citizens lack ready access to a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization record, and nearly 80 percent of married women would not have documentation that reflects their current legal name.

The attorneys general emphasize that citizenship is already required to vote in federal elections and that states and the federal government already use robust systems to verify voter eligibility. They note that noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare and has never been shown to impact federal election outcomes, while documentary proof-of-citizenship requirements have repeatedly been shown to disenfranchise tens of thousands of eligible voters.

Attorney General James and the coalition urge the Senate to reject the SAVE America Act and oppose any effort to federalize election administration, calling on lawmakers to respect state sovereignty and protect Americans’ fundamental right to vote.

Joining Attorney General James in this letter are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.