Millions of voters will find it significantly harder — if not impossible — to vote if the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act is passed by the U.S. Senate. Election officials will be required to implement convoluted and expensive processes with criminal penalties, and states will give up jurisdiction in elections.

This is the first step to federalizing our elections. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the SAVE Act and debate has started in the U.S. Senate and expected to resume the week of April 13.

• All versions of the bill require every voter to show “documentary proof of citizenship” to register to vote or to change their voter information each time they change their address, party affiliation, etc.
• “Documentary proof of citizenship” varies by each bill but ultimately is incredibly narrow and a Nebraska driver’s license WILL NOT WORK. 
• For folks who have a name different than that on their birth certificate (such as women who have changed their name upon marriage) a current passport is perhaps the only document that will work as a stand alone “proof of citizenship.” Otherwise it will require more than one document such as a birth certificate AND a marriage license. 
• It is estimated this change would affect more than 21 million Americans.
• This is not just a “national voter ID” bill and would actually conflict with the voter ID bill ballot initiative and implementations Nebraska adopted less than a decade ago. 

To learn more watch The SAVE Act: What It Is and Why It Matters information session recording or view this summary page from Civic Nebraska that provides a helpful overview.  

What can you do? Contact Senator Deb Fischer and Senator Pete Rickets and tell them how this would affect you! 

Senator Deb Fischer
Kearney – (308) 234-2361
Lincoln – (402) 441-4600
Omaha – (402) 391-3411
Scottsbluff – (308) 630-2329
Washington DC – (202) 224-6551
Online comment

Senator Pete Ricketts
Kearney – (308) 233-3677
Lincoln – (402) 476-1400
Omaha – (402) 550-8040
Scottsbluff – (308) 632-6032
Washington DC – (202) 224-4224
Online comment

• Encourage friends and family to do the same.
• Lots of folks put this in the “politics as usual” bucket and don’t know the full extent to which this could impact THEIR ability to vote.
• Here are some strategies that could help:
  • Ask them if they’ve heard about the SAVE Act and what they know about it.
  • Help debunk misinformation like the idea that a driver’s license will suffice.
  • Talk through what this could mean for them specifically with questions like:
    “Do you have a current passport?”
    “Does the name on your birth certificate match that on your driver’s license?”
    “Do you have access to your birth certificate?”
  • Ask “Do you know how to get some of the documents you might need (e.g. birth certificate, marriage license, etc.)? How long does it take to obtain? What is the fee?”
  • Set a goal of getting at least five people to reach out to their U.S. senators (gold star for 10 or more)