PRESS STATEMENT: Friday, April 11th, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Denounces House Passage of SAVE Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a dangerous piece of legislation that creates barriers to voting for millions of Americans. The act requires individuals to show documentary proof of citizenship such as a passport or birth certificate to register or re-register to vote with the goal of preventing noncitizen voting in federal elections – something that is exceedingly rare. The bill will now move to the Senate for consideration.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a network of four affiliated independent civil rights organizations issues the following statement:
“We are dismayed by the House’s decision to advance the misnamed SAVE Act, which is an unwarranted attack on voting rights for all who are eligible. In reality, the SAVE Act exploits divisive claims about voter fraud to undermine the democratic process and villainize immigrant communities. And while it aims to target noncitizens, it will make registering to vote significantly more difficult for the over 21 million Americans who were born here or are naturalized citizens, who do not have ready access to the required forms of identification only due to the nature of accessing or maintaining such documents.
“Additionally, the SAVE Act’s mandate for states to purge voter rolls of noncitizens is an error-prone process due to outdated information in many state and federal databases. It will disproportionately harm communities of color, including Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI), especially the nearly 50% who are naturalized. Let’s call the SAVE Act what it actually is: fraudulent fearmongering designed to exclude qualified voters.
“We already know that requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote creates barriers for eligible voters. Past attempts to require proof of citizenship to vote and remove suspected noncitizens from voter rolls at the state level erroneously blocked thousands of eligible voters from exercising their right to vote. While this outcome is disappointing, we will continue working to defend the right of all eligible Americans to show up at the ballot box.”
PRESS CONTACT:
Aleisha Flores (771) 233-8202 aflores@advancingjustice-aajc.org
Liana Liang (213) 977‑7500 x237 lliang@ajsocal.org
Rachael Ramchand (404) 585-8446 x990 rramchand@advancingjustice-atlanta.org
Arjumand Khan (773) 616-0755 akhan@advancingjustice-chicago.org
###
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity. Learn more at www.advancingjustice-chicago.org.