The SAVE Act is Voter Suppression

There’s a lot of discussion right now about the SAVE Act and proof-of-citizenship requirements for voting. On its surface, it sounds reasonable. Of course only citizens should vote. That’s already the law, and no serious person is arguing otherwise.

But here’s the part that matters: the evidence shows that non-citizen voting is extremely rare. Multiple state audits, federal investigations, and independent research have consistently found only isolated cases—nowhere near enough to affect election outcomes. So the question isn’t whether citizenship should matter. It’s whether the solution creates a bigger problem than the one it claims to fix.

Because requiring specific citizenship documents doesn’t affect everyone equally.

If voting requires a passport, a replacement birth certificate, travel to a government office, time off work, or waiting weeks for processing, then access to voting becomes tied to money, time, and flexibility. And those are resources not everyone has equally.

The right to vote should not depend on whether you can afford document fees, whether you can miss work, or whether you have the time and transportation to navigate government systems.

If proof of citizenship is required, then fairness demands that the process be fully accessible to every citizen. That means the documents should be free. The process should be automatic. It should be handled online and by mail. Registration should happen automatically at 18, and updates should follow you when you move. And if paperwork is delayed due to government processing, citizens should still be allowed to cast provisional ballots.

A constitutional right cannot depend on personal resources or bureaucratic obstacles.

This isn’t about partisanship. It’s about the principle that the government should not create barriers that make it harder for eligible citizens to participate in democracy.

Election security and voter access are not opposing values. A fair system can and should protect both.

But if exercising your right to vote requires money, time, or navigating unnecessary hurdles, then that system isn’t strengthening democracy. It’s restricting it.

And that’s something every citizen should care about.