New York Attorney General Letitia James has taken the lead, backed by her counterparts in eleven other states, in a bold move to stand against the proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act. In a collective declaration to the U.S. Senate, the attorneys general issued a stern warning that the bill is an unlawful overreach that would standardize election administration on a national scale, presenting significant hurdles to voter registration and potentially disenfranchising millions of Americans. The SAVE America Act claims to seek higher integrity in elections by demanding documentary proof of citizenship. However, this step could eliminate convenient voter registration methods like online, mail-in, and automatic systems, as highlighted in a letter made public on February 18th and directed at Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The escalating concern is that if the SAVE America Act were to be enacted, it would not only usurp states' long-held authority over their electoral systems but would also dismantle registration systems that are the backbone of voting accessibility. In a statement obtained by the Office of Attorney General James, the legislation is described as "an unconstitutional power grab" that would effectively block "millions of eligible Americans from the ballot box." The ripple effect of the bill's requirements would likely most acutely impact the working class, rural residents, young adults, and individuals whose legal names do not align with their birth certificates. The attorneys general estimate that around 21 million citizens of voting age might be left without access to the necessary documents to fulfill the new requirements.
James, along with the supporting attorneys general, argues that the fears underlying the SAVE America Act are unfounded, with citizenship already being a requisite for voting in federal elections and both state and federal systems efficiently verifying voter eligibility. Instances of noncitizen voting are extraordinarily rare and have never influenced federal election outcomes, according to their analysis. The pressing concern put forward is that documentary proof of citizenship has been proven to disenfranchise legitimate voters in the past. The collective, which includes officials from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington, stands firmly against efforts to federalize election administration and insists on safeguarding the fundamental right to vote for all Americans.
Circling back to the heart of the matter, Attorney General James and her cohort have drawn a line in the sand, urging the Senate to recognize the potential harm the SAVE America Act could inflict on a democracy that thrives on participation. They press upon senators to respect state sovereignty and to not turn a blind eye to the possible exclusion of millions from the democratic process.
