Why the Save Act is bad for Women

What we need to "save" is our right to vote and the 19th Amendment

Our vote is our voice, and we stand on the shoulders of the women and allies who fought for our right to vote. The Save Act is a threat to that right.

CALL YOUR REPRESNTATIVES TO VOTE NO ON THE SAVE ACT

Are you married?

Did you take your husband’s last name?

If so, your birth certificate's last name and your official government ID's last name are different.

Why should you care?

Because of this “mismatch” you potentially can be denied the right to vote in our US elections per the Save Act - “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act" which was submitted by 81 Republicans (now 93 as of 3/22/25)

Yes, this ‘bill’ is sitting on Capitol Hill, just like the Schoolhouse Rock song. It is not law yet, but it has been “introduced”. And it is now being voted on TOMORROW April 10th.

You can follow introduced legislation on Congress.gov by creating an account, and you will get alerts as things happen - this is the link to the Save Act HR 22.

If you have a last name different from that on your birth certificate and would like to continue voting, you should call your representatives and senators and tell them to vote against the Save Act.

69 million women have taken their husbands' names and have ID without a birth certificate matching their legal name.

You should get your husband, your dad, your sisters, your aunties, all of us to understand the implications of this bill. Everybody should be calling about this. It is a voter suppression bill.

It is the first step towards removing women’s right to vote directly from Project 2025.

This proposed law used the guise of helping with voter fraud of undocumented non-citizens trying to vote - which is ALREADY illegal.

This proposed law is a VOTER SUPPRESSION law against women, intended to take away the right to vote—the 19th Amendment—from all women. It is part of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 plan.

Other issues for all of us:

Do you like standing in line at the DMV?

Rural and low-income voters

The SAVE Act could disproportionately harm rural and low-income Americans by requiring costly, hard-to-obtain documents like birth certificates or passports to vote. Many in these communities lack access to government services, transportation, or flexible schedules—and who wants to wait for hours at the DMV just to prove they can vote? Frequent address changes, limited internet access, and the burden of proof may lead to eligible voters being purged from rolls or deterred from registering altogether.

Students

• Out-of-state students often vote in the state where they attend college.

  • The SAVE Act requires documentary proof of citizenship (e.g., birth certificate or passport) when registering to vote in federal elections.

  • Many students may not carry these documents with them, and obtaining them can be time-consuming and costly.

• Could create confusion or additional bureaucratic barriers that deter young voters—who already face challenges like limited polling access or not being registered in their new temporary address.

🎖️ Military Members

• Active-duty military personnel frequently move across state lines or are stationed overseas.

  • They often rely on absentee voting systems and voter registration from afar.

• If required to submit physical proof of citizenship again, it could delay or prevent their ability to vote—despite their service.

• These added hoops may not consider the logistical difficulties military families face with mail delays or documentation access while deployed.

There should not be a “Poll Tax” in the form of getting new documents in order to vote.

What is a Poll Tax?

A poll tax is a fee that individuals were required to pay in order to vote. In U.S. history, especially in the South during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, poll taxes were used to disenfranchise Black voters and poor white voters by making voting financially inaccessible.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

• 🧾 What it was: A fixed tax that had to be paid—sometimes years in advance—to be eligible to vote.

• 🚫 Who it affected: Primarily poor people, especially African Americans and low-income white citizens, who often couldn’t afford to pay it.

• ⚖️ Why it’s important: It was part of a set of Jim Crow-era voter suppression tactics, alongside literacy tests and intimidation.

• 📜 When it ended: The 24th Amendment (1964) banned poll taxes in federal elections, and the Supreme Court later extended that ban to state elections in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966).

So when people refer to modern laws as "a new poll tax," they usually mean the law imposes financial or logistical burdens that could disenfranchise voters, even if it’s not a literal fee.

NPR breaks down this bill: Here are 8 things to know about the Trump-backed SAVE Act

Download the 5 Calls app.

There is already a listing for this issue. Talk to your Congresspeople about this proposed bill. To call direct 202-224-3121.

Bill origin

This bill was introduced by Rep. Roy, Chip [R-TX-21]

To call your member of Congress, use your Five Calls App.

Here is an alphabetical list by state and then by district number of the Republican sponsors of the 2025 HR22 Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act:

Alabama

• District 3: Rep. Barry Moore

• District 5: Rep. Dale Strong

• District 6: Rep. Gary Palmer

Arizona

• District 2: Rep. Eli Crane

• District 5: Rep. Andy Biggs

• District 9: Rep. Paul Gosar

Arkansas

• District 3: Rep. Steve Womack

California

• District 5: Rep. Tom McClintock

• District 10: Rep. Mike Collins

• District 23: Rep. Kevin Kiley

Colorado

• District 3: Rep. Lauren Boebert

• District 5: Rep. Jeff Crank

Florida

• District 2: Rep. Neal Dunn

• District 3: Rep. Kat Cammack

• District 12: Rep. Gus Bilirakis

• District 13: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna

• District 17: Rep. Greg Steube

• District 25: Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart

Georgia

• District 9: Rep. Andrew Clyde

• District 10: Rep. Mike Collins

• District 12: Rep. Rick Allen

Idaho

• District 1: Rep. Russ Fulcher

Illinois

• District 12: Rep. Mike Bost

• District 15: Rep. Mary Miller

Indiana

• District 2: Rep. Rudy Yakym

• District 6: Rep. Greg Pence

• District 9: Rep. Erin Houchin

Iowa

• District 4: Rep. Randy Feenstra

Kansas

• District 4: Rep. Ron Estes

Louisiana

• District 3: Rep. Clay Higgins

• District 6: Rep. Garret Graves

Maryland

• District 1: Rep. Andy Harris

Michigan

• District 2: Rep. John Moolenaar

• District 7: Rep. Tim Walberg

Minnesota

• District 6: Rep. Tom Emmer

• District 7: Rep. Michelle Fischbac

Missouri

• District 7: Rep. Eric Burlison

Montana

• At Large: Rep. Matt Rosendale

New Jersey

• District 2: Rep. Jeff Van Drew

• District 11: Rep. Nicole Malliotakis

New York

• District 2: Rep. Andrew Garbarino

• District 23: Rep. Nick Langworthy

• District 24: Rep. Claudia Tenney

North Carolina

• District 5: Rep. Virginia Foxx

• District 11: Rep. Chuck Edwards

Ohio

• District 2: Rep. Brad Wenstrup

• District 12: Rep. Troy Balderson

Oklahoma

• District 2: Rep. Josh Brecheen

• District 5: Rep. Stephanie Bice

Pennsylvania

• District 10: Rep. Scott Perry

• District 14: Rep. Guy Reschenthaler

South Carolina

• District 3: Rep. Jeff Duncan

• District 4: Rep. William Timmons

• District 5: Rep. Ralph Norman

Tennessee

• District 1: Rep. Diana Harshbarger

• District 2: Rep. Tim Burchett

• District 5: Rep. Andy Ogles

• District 7: Rep. Mark Green

Texas

• District 2: Rep. Dan Crenshaw

• District 3: Rep. Keith Self

• District 6: Rep. Jake Ellzey

• District 10: Rep. Michael McCaul

• District 11: Rep. August Pfluger

Rep. Erin Houchin of Indiana shares the same last name as her husband, so she is essentially sponsoring a bill that would take away her own right to vote.

Status: Latest Action: House - 01/03/2025 Referred to the House Committee on House Administration

The House Committee on House Administration currently includes the following members

Republican Members

• Bryan Steil (WI-01) - Chair

• Laurel Lee (FL-15) - Vice Chair

• Barry Loudermilk (GA-11)

• Morgan Griffith (VA-09)

• Greg Murphy (NC-03)

• Stephanie Bice (OK-05)

• Mike Carey (OH-15)

• Mary Miller (IL-15)

Democratic Members

• Joe Morelle (NY-25) - Ranking Member

• Terri A. Sewell (AL-07)

• Norma Torres (CA-35)

• Julie Johnson (TX-32)

Empathy makes us human. Action makes us warriors.

Let’s go. Voices matter. Women being able to vote matters.