June 9, 2025
To the Editor:
A current bill in Congress aims to make voting harder for everyone.
The
Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE)
Act has the potential to disenfranchise millions of American voters.
SAVE would require a passport or a birth certificate to register to vote or update voter registration information.
It is currently illegal for non-citizens to register and vote and voter fraud is exceedingly rare.
Even if you have voted in every election, you may be among the millions of eligible voters who do not have the documentation required by this law. Of San Luis Obispo County’s approximately 219,000 citizens of voting age, as many as 53,000 married women who changed their name upon marriage could be at risk of losing their vote.
Married women who changed their surname may be required to secure updated documentation to match their married name. A birth certificate, marriage license, or REAL ID alone would not suffice as proof of citizenship.
Under the
SAVE Act voters must show citizenship documentation
every time they register.
SAVE will deny eligible voters their rights. The League of Women Voters urges you to tell our Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff to strenuously oppose this dangerous bill.
Ann Havlik
Elizabeth Manak, PhD.
Co-Presidents
League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County
president@lwvslo.org