The League of Women Voters of Missouri Opposes the National SAVE Act and Missouri SB 983 which Both Require Proof of Citizenship to Vote The House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act for the second time in April 2025. The SAVE Act would require citizenship documentation to register to vote even though voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering.
The SAVE Act requires individuals to show official proof of US citizenship, such as a US passport, birth certificate, or certificate of naturalization, when registering to vote. Most of these documents must be presented in person at the time of registration. This requirement aims to ensure that only citizens can participate in federal elections.
Lawmakers in both the United States House and Senate recently launched a renewed push to pass the SAVE Act, introducing new bills that advance its “show your papers” requirement for voter registration. It has come up for the second time and has again passed in the US House and is headed toward the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Missouri Senate has already introduced SB 983 which could pass in Missouri even if the national bill does not pass, depriving many Missouri citizens of voting rights. It was heard in the Missouri Senate on February 9. LWVMO was the only one to testify against it.
It is already illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. The bill’s requirement of a document to prove American citizenship to register to vote in federal elections is unnecessary and seeks to divide us. It also creates another barrier to
voting.
The Brennan Center for Justice research shows that more than 21 million Americans lack ready access to those documents. Roughly half of Americans don’t even have a passport. Millions lack access to a paper copy of their birth certificate. The SAVE Act would disenfranchise Americans of all ages and races, but younger voters and voters of color would suffer disproportionately. Compared to white US citizens, citizens of color are three times more likely to lack documents such as birth certificates, passports, naturalization certificates, or certificates of citizenship or face difficulties accessing them. For example, while approximately half of all American adults possess a passport, two-thirds of Black Americans do not. Likewise, millions of women whose married names aren’t on their birth certificates would face extra steps just to make their voices heard.
Many communities of eligible voters would be unnecessarily burdened by the requirements of the SAVE Act. Among them are military voters who would be required to present documentation every time they re-register to vote when their family moves. Families who have been impacted by natural disasters may have lost necessary documentation and would be required to jump through hoops to replace these documents to register to vote while also going through the traumatic process of rebuilding their lives.
Americans do not need MORE obstacles to vote. The SAVE Act would create one more barrier to the voting process.
Tell your Missouri Senators, Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, to oppose the SAVE Act. Tell your Missouri Senators and Representatives to oppose SB 983. The time to act is NOW.
