The Brennan Center for Justice claims 21 million Americans would be disenfranchised by the SAVE Act’s requirement to show citizenship documents when registering to vote. Every U.S. citizen has citizenship documents.
The House passed the SAVE America Act (H.R. 7296) on February 11, 2026, requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. The vote was 218-213. When the bill reached the Senate, Senator Rick Scott of Florida requested unanimous consent for immediate passage. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts objected, forcing the bill to require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
Every U.S. citizen possesses proof of citizenship. Those born in the United States have birth certificates on file with state vital records offices. Naturalized citizens received Certificates of Naturalization. Those born abroad to U.S. parents have Consular Reports of Birth Abroad. If someone has no birth certificate and no naturalization certificate, they are not a U.S. citizen.
Certified copies cost $10 to $50 from state vital records offices.
The Brennan Center’s 2023 survey asked if respondents could produce citizenship documents “tomorrow.” Of the 21.3 million who said no, 17.5 million have the documents but can’t locate them immediately. Another 3.8 million claim they don’t have citizenship documents at all. The survey measured whether people could find documents tomorrow, not whether the documents exist.
Elections aren’t surprise events. Voters have months of advance notice to locate stored documents or order certified copies.
Advocacy groups claim 69 million married women would be disenfranchised because their birth certificates don’t match their current legal names. Marriage certificates serve as standard proof of legal name changes for passports, Social Security cards, driver’s licenses, and bank accounts. States process thousands of name changes daily using marriage certificates. The SAVE Act requires states establish an alternative process for applicants whose documents don’t match—the same marriage certificates already accepted for driver’s licenses.
India requires photo ID to vote for 900 million eligible voters. France, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Norway, Sweden, and 176 countries worldwide require photo identification as of 2021. Five U.S. states—Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Washington—issue Enhanced Driver’s Licenses that indicate U.S. citizenship and function as passport alternatives for international border crossings.
A passport costs $130. A certified birth certificate costs $10 to $50. A certified marriage certificate costs $10 to $50. Driver’s licenses, professional licenses, and other government IDs require similar documentation and fees. Americans who navigate DMV bureaucracy to get driver’s licenses face the same process for voter registration documents.
Advocacy groups opposing the SAVE Act accept the same documentary requirements for driver’s licenses, passports, and Social Security cards. The documents they claim would disenfranchise 21 million voters exist in government offices, available for modest fees, with months of advance notice before elections. The United States would join 176 countries in requiring proof of citizenship that voters already possess.
Sources: H.R. 7296 (119th Congress), Brennan Center for Justice 2023 national survey (University of Maryland Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement), State Department passport requirements, state vital records offices fee schedules, DHS Enhanced Driver’s License guidance, international voter ID requirements (176 countries as of 2021)
Sources: Brennan Center for Justice 2023 national survey on citizenship documents, H.R. 22 (119th Congress) Section 2(f), State Department passport name change requirements (Form DS-5504, Form DS-82), Colorado DMV name change procedures, DHS Enhanced Driver’s License guidance, Wikipedia international voter ID requirements compilation, University of Maryland Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement survey methodology
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