This Action Alert was last updated on April 22 at 12 PM.

2025 Timeline:

• January 3: The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) Act H.R. 22 / S. 128 is introduced to the current House of Representatives by Rep. Chip Roy. 
• March 25: President Trump issues Executive Order 14248, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” similar to the SAVE Act.
• April: The League and other organizations file lawsuit challenging the executive order as illegal.
• April 10: The US House of Representatives passes the bill by a margin of 220-208 with the support of all House Republicans and four House Democrats.
• Next: The US Senate is expected to vote on the bill, the courts are expected to rule on the legality of the executive order. 

Bottom line: We need to defeat the SAVE Act in the Senate and defend our voting rights at the state and local level. While awaiting the outcome in the courts, every Connecticut voter can take the actions highlighted below. 

What does the SAVE Act change about the way we vote?

This bill would require eligible Americans to provide documentary proof of citizenship in person to a federal official to register to vote or update their voter registration.  Affirmation or verification of citizenship is already required for those registering to vote, and there are already severe penalties for noncitizens who illegally try to vote. Cases of actual non-citizens voting are vanishingly rare. 

Why is requiring proof of citizenship such a big deal?

If either the executive order is upheld or if Congress passes the SAVE Act, it would drastically upend the election systems in Connecticut and around the country and create extreme barriers to voting for millions of US citizens. 

What happens if Congress passes the SAVE Act or if Trump's executive order is upheld?

By requiring voters to present proof of citizenship (typically a birth certificate or passport) to a federal every time they register or update their registration, the SAVE Act and executive order would:

• End all nonpartisan nonprofit-led voter registration drives since only government officials would be able to review and accept the proof of citizenship.
• Make no allowance for proof of citizenship to be provided digitally or via paper copies, effectively ending Online Voter Registration and mail-in registration.
• Force Americans everywhere to travel and brave the lines every time they need to update their registration.
• Create extreme obstacles to voting for millions of US citizens, including women, trans people, young people, disabled people, people of color and the poor and working class, who either don't have ready access to proof of citizenship or documents that match their legal name, lack transportation or job flexibility, or have other mobility limitations.

A few numbers and examples of who would be affected:

• In Connecticut, 39% of voters register through our online voter registration system.
• Up to 69 million women nationwide have birth certificates that do not match their current name and House Republicans rejected an amendment that would have ensured that these women and others with similar situations would not be negatively impacted by the provisions of the bill.
  
• As many as 21 million citizens nationwide don’t have ready access to proof of citizenship, and citizens of color are three times more likely to lack documents or face difficulties accessing them.

In a statement during this capitol news briefing on February 24, 2025, Connecticut Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas put it this way:

"Through fear mongering, Republican leaders want to pass this Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, more commonly known as the SAVE act. It is federal overreach, in an unfunded mandate, at best and it is antidemocratic at worst. The SAVE Act should actually be called the DESTROY Act because it would significantly limit voting access here in Connecticut and in every other state, by creating significant obstacles for every eligible voter.

"Imagine for a moment here in Connecticut no online voter registration; guess what - that’s how 39% of our residents currently register to vote. Imagine no voter registration through the mail. Imagine every single person having to make their way to the registrar of voter’s office to present their birth certificate or their passport to prove they are a US Citizen before being registered and eligible to vote. And imagine having to do this not just the first time you register but anytime you update your registration."

What the League of Women Voters US is doing

The League of Women Voters of the United States issued a statement in response to President Donald Trump's March 25 order, arguing that it threatens Americans’ freedom to vote and tramples states’ constitutional authority to run their own elections.

LWVUS and several other organizations filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the order is an illegal and beyond the President’s powers under the United States Constitution and federal law.  On Thursday April 17, the district court held a hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction. Check out the LWVUS Legal Center for more.

Connecticut's Fight at Home: Funding Our Elections and the Connecticut Voting Rights Act

Given the ongoing assaults on the rights of Americans by the Trump Administration and his allies in Congress, it has never been more crucial for Governor Lamont and the Connecticut General Assembly to do everything in their power to allocate adequate funding to protect the right to vote, ensure voting access, especially by implementing the Connecticut Voting Rights Act of 2023. 

Connecticut voters have embraced measures like early voting and absentee voting for all, but without adequate investment, these reforms cannot be fully realized. Election officials need resources to educate voters, ensure secure ballot access, and modernize our election systems. The failure to include these critical investments threatens to create unnecessary barriers for voters, especially seniors, people with disabilities, and working families.

1. Respond to your Member of the House and thank them for their vote on the SAVE ACT using this LWVUS Action Alert.
2. Use this NEW LWVUS Action Alert to tell our Senators to oppose the SAVE Act, and send it to family and friends in other states - especially those represented by the sponsors of the bill, including Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Texas, and Arizona.
3. Sign up for LWVCT Advocacy and Legislative Updates to receive information about actions you can take to protect the right to vote or expand voter access in Connecticut.
4. Get ready to push for our state legislators to allocate adequate funding to protect and expand voting access, especially by funding municipalities for early voting, and funding the implementation of the Connecticut Voting Rights Act.
   
5. Longer term action: Get involved in local government wherever you are.