AG Nessel Urges Senate to Reject SAVE America Act

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a coalition of 12 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 the letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (PDF), the coalition argues 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 SAVE America Act is clearly an attempt to disenfranchise voters, based on false claims of ‘stolen’ or ‘rigged’ elections,” said Attorney General Nessel. “This legislation is not designed to protect democracy but to make it harder for people to participate in it, and I urge the Senate to reject the SAVE America Act and uphold the fundamental right to vote.”

Attorney General Nessel and the coalition warn that the SAVE America Act would eliminate online voter registration 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 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 Nessel 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 Nessel in this letter are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

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