April 10, 2025, WASHINGTON D.C. – Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) is deeply disappointed by passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act (HR 22) in the House of Representatives by a vote of 220-208. This legislation presents an unnecessary and harmful barrier to voter registration, disproportionately affecting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, as well as other historically marginalized groups.
“Not only does the SAVE Act impair government efficiency, it does so by harming many people’s right to vote. The fact that there has been so little evidence of non eligible voters casting ballots in federal elections underscores the point that requiring documentary proof of citizenship in-person in order to register, or re-register, to vote is an unnecessary solution to a nonexistent problem,” said Christine Chen, Executive Director of APIAVote.
“Many eligible voters including those in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community do not have readily available documents to meet SAVE Act requirements. Furthermore, our communities rely on methods such as online, mail and voter registration drives, and this draconian measure would effectively end those options. With the bill passing in the House today, the battle now shifts to the Senate where we will be working hard to make sure that our Senators know this bill that will prevent eligible voters from casting their ballot. ”
The SAVE Act would potentially affect an estimated 69 million American women who changed their names through marriage and don’t have passports, as these women rely on birth certificates that don’t reflect their current legal names. Naturalized citizens, seniors, rural residents, and low-income individuals may also be impacted due to not having ready access to the required citizenship documents. It would also render voter registration drives – an important outreach effort, especially within communities of color – nearly impossible, and would eliminate widely used online and mail-in voter registration methods, making it harder for eligible voters to participate in elections. -- READ MORE
