The US House of Representatives passed a law called the SAVE Act which would be an amendment to the Voting Rights Act, this amendment would require US citizens to provide either their birth certificate or passport when they register to vote. If this bill is passed by the Senate and signed by President Trump it will hurt our voters. It would disenfranchise so many voters. It will provide challenges for women who change their last name to register. It will provide a financial barrier for those who don’t have passports, which is what you would need if you changed your name. It would further hurt those who are most vulnerable in society because providing a birth certificate or passport may not be feasible for many. Those who are most vulnerable in society need to vote in order to make sure their struggles are heard and addressed.

You may be asking where does this law come from? It comes from the rhetoric of MAGA, who wants to put the perception that our elections are not secure and that illegal immigrants are voting in our elections. This theory took center stage when President Trump lost the 2020 election to President Biden. The Trump Campaign launched multiple lawsuits claiming election fraud and even tried to commit a coup d’etat against the government to remain in power. Luckily, our elections are secure. This rhetoric is being stirred up again ahead of the 2026 midterms because the President is afraid of losing congress to the Democrats.
Elections are secure and here is how you can know this without being involved in the process. Elections are run by the states and many states already require ID in order to vote. Registration is done by the state and the States know how to decipher citizens and noncitizens. Our elections are also decentralized. 50 States administer the elections, all different and controlled by the respective state. It is almost impossible to sway national elections because you would have to interfere in multiple states that all have different election systems.  

The Republicans in control of the government know this and are still pushing the conspiracy theory that our elections are not safe and secure. An autocrat is in the Presidency and he wishes to retain his power. That is not how this country works. The American people believe in checks and balances and the democratic freedoms of this country. Our elections are sacred, they cannot be taken away from us. Make sure to register to vote and vote early!

Matthew Felipe