The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act passed in the House of Representatives and is awaiting the Senate’s vote as of Feb. 24. The bill was introduced by Texas Republican Representative Chip Roy and Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee and aims to keep non-U.S. citizens from registering to vote.
The bill is being voted on prior to the 2026 midterms. If passed, new requirements for registering to vote would be mandated before these elections, such as documentary proof of citizenship and photo identification.
According to the Campaign Legal Center, the SAVE Act would create new barriers for more than 21 million eligible voters who do not have access to the new required documents.
Biology teacher Sara Abeita said that this proposed bill would inhibit online voter registration, which would make it more difficult for voters who cannot easily drive to their voting registration office.
“If you’re a citizen, a foundational part of our country and democracy, is that everybody has a voice,” Abeita said. “I feel very passionate that everyone [in the U.S.] should have the right to vote and have representatives that listen to them. Acts like this just keep people from participating, and it’s not good.”
Treasurer of the League of Women Voters, Carol Williamson, said the act will diminish the league’s process of registering voters. Instead of the LWV registering them immediately, voters will need to show their documents to election officials in-person.
“There are a lot of folks who registered a vote at the farmers market, and they might not have or take time to get to an official government office during their hours to do that,” Williamson said. “If they have to present their legal documents, it’s not as easy to register to vote at home or online.”
Williamson said that specifically married women, whose last name does not match their birth certificate, would have to go through extra steps to register to vote. According to NPR, as many as 69 million American women’s surnames do not match their birth certificates. The proposed legislation does not provide any alternative options, besides birth certificates, for these women to prove their citizenship.
“There’s a smaller percent of women who vote for the current administration, the Trump administration, and for Republicans, so it does seem to very much be targeting women,” Williamson said.
Additionally, junior Bea Essman said that she believes that all citizens have the right to vote, but she said she anticipates that this bill will reduce voting turnout.
According to NPR, legal experts say that the bill will result in differing policies across states, meaning that some states may enforce stricter document requirements while others will allow a marriage license to qualify for proof of citizenship.
While it is currently unknown how Kansas will enforce the bill, out of the four Kansas representatives, two voted in favor of the bill, one voted against and one did not vote. Although it is already illegal and uncommon for non-citizens to vote, Representative Tracey Mann called an earlier version of this bill “commonsense legislation” in a statement on his website.
“It should not be controversial to say that only U.S. citizens can vote in our federal elections,” Mann said. “Integrity in our elections is the bedrock of our democracy, and Americans deserve to know that every legal vote counts.”
In a 2024 poll by Gallup, 83% of voters said that they supported requiring proof of citizenship for citizens registering to vote for the first time. While proponents of this bill claim that it will ensure that only citizens will register to vote, non-citizen voting is rare, according to PBS. Essman said she believes it will harm citizens’ ability to vote as well.
“It really ties back to voter suppression, which is really hard to think that that’s what we’ve come to at this point,” Essman said. “It’s just sad that we’re trying to take away people’s ability to vote.”
Throughout Trump’s first and second presidencies, he targeted bills that affect women’s rights and successfully dismantled Roe V. Wade. Abetia said she feels this act is another example of the administration impeding women’s rights.
“I think that, unfortunately, the administration has demonstrated that they don’t take democracy seriously, that they don’t respect the kind of foundational parts of our country and how it’s supposed to be run,” Abeita said. “If passed, it will just result in huge swaths of votes not being counted, which is just another slide further down fascism.”
Williamson and LWV urge community members to spread the word on the setbacks the SAVE Act will have for voters, especially married women. She said that calling your local representatives is the most effective way to ensure change.
“Help spread the word, because there’s plenty who are trying to undo the institutions of our government … Voting is safe and it is secure, and this bill undermines that.”
