Washington, D.C. — Student organizers from the Task Force for Democracy, GenVote, and the Declaration for American Democracy held a day of action on Capitol Hill Wednesday to oppose the SAVE Act in the Senate.
Advocates intercepted Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Rick Scott (R-FL) to confront them about their intentions to vote in favor of the Act’s passage. In response, the Senators fled or slammed doors in their faces — a sign of their respect for their constituents.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act would require individuals to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections, which would immediately disenfranchise more than 21 million Americans. While doing little to safeguard voter eligibility, the Act would make it harder for young people, married women, transgender individuals, working Americans and beyond to vote. This would extend to mail-in voting, upending a process that 60% of voters relied on to cast their ballot in 2024.
The Act passed the House of Representatives 220-208 and Senators voted to start debate on Tuesday. Senate Republicans have spent their time falsely claiming that Democrats are trying to legalize noncitizen voting and that requiring proof of citizenship would not make it harder for eligible Americans to vote.
In a speech given in front of the Capitol building, GenVote organizer Vienna Cavazos commented that “to pass the SAVE Act would be to perform a direct assault on American democracy, disenfranchising millions. The SAVE Act is not about election integrity; it’s about election weaponization.”
“The SAVE Act would restrict 21 million Americans from voting,” said Task Force President Kaden Ouimet. “We have an opportunity to not only take on attacks on free & fair elections — but to center students in the fight for a more just and inclusive democracy.”
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