SAVE America Act is GOP’s latest attempt at voter suppression | Editorial
The proposal’s requirements could disenfranchise 21 million eligible voters, including many elderly, low-income, and rural citizens.
Donald Trump knows about elections and fraud.
After all, he did try to cheat more than 81 million people out of their vote in the 2020 presidential election, engaging in a conspiracy to overturn the results. In a bid to cling to power, federal prosecutors found he “resorted to crimes” — a heinous scheme that culminated in the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Special counsel Jack Smith said prosecutors had enough evidence to convict Trump for his attempt to steal the race. But he beat the rap — as well as a state election fraud indictment — when the charges were dropped after he was reelected in 2024.
The FBI recently seized voting records in Georgia — more than five years after the election — as Trump still searches for elusive votes to change the outcome.
More alarmingly, he is working hard to rig elections in 2026 and beyond.
Trump’s latest scheme is called the SAVE America Act, which is really an effort to suppress votes.
The measure would require voters to provide physical proof of U.S. citizenship. It would limit mail-in voting to those with specific excuses, such as illness, disability, or military service, and allow the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to verify citizenship data.
In short, the bill will make it harder to vote. It could disenfranchise 21 million eligible voters, including many elderly, low-income, and rural citizens, who lack easy access to birth certificates or passports.
It will also make it difficult for married women who take their spouse’s name to register if their surname doesn’t match their birth certificate.
Supporters argue the bill is a “commonsense” measure to ensure only citizens vote and restore confidence in elections. But restricting the right for millions to cast ballots will sow chaos at the polls and actually undermine faith in voting results.
Much of the electorate questions the legitimacy of vote tallies because Trump and his supporters in the right-wing media echo chamber have been spewing lies about election integrity for years.
This was not a serious concern for many voters until Trump came on the political scene.
He claimed he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016 because as many as five million immigrants voted illegally. That is false.
» READ MORE: SAVE Act would drastically change how Americans vote | Opinion
Stephen Miller, who is overseeing Trump’s mass deportation efforts, claimed 14% of noncitizens are registered to vote. That is a lie.
Trump repeated bogus claims about election fraud after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden. His claims were repeatedly debunked.
Trump’s own advisers, including former Attorney General Bill Barr, told him he lost. Trump challenged the election results in court anyway and lost 60 times.
Trump’s own Department of Homeland Security called the 2020 election “the most secure in American history.”
Yes, some people who are not citizens have voted, but multiple studies reveal it is exceedingly rare. One report found the incident rates of noncitizens voting were between 0.0003% and 0.0025%.
It is beyond exhausting and irresponsible that Trump continues to peddle election lies. But even worse, many other elected GOP and administration officials continue to engage in the charade. Even recent Trump-nominated judges won’t admit he lost the 2020 election.
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.), who supports the SAVE America Act, has been gaslighting and parroting Trump’s election paranoia.
» READ MORE: Republicans continue to sow distrust in elections. The SAVE America Act won’t change that. | Luis F. Carrasco
The House passed the legislation in February. All the Republicans in Pennsylvania, including U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks), voted for the measure.
The Committee of Seventy said the SAVE America Act would make it harder for women, veterans, and rural voters in Pennsylvania to exercise their fundamental right, while placing added burdens on local election officials.
The Philadelphia-based, nonpartisan, good government group called the proposal a “harmful solution in search of a problem.”
That makes sense, since Trump creates more problems than he solves.
The best way to stop the madness and really save America is to vote out Trump’s shameless sycophants.