New York Attorney General Letitia James has led a group of 11 other attorneys general in urging the U.S. Senate to reject the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act. The coalition contends that the proposed legislation would unlawfully centralize election administration at the federal level, impose new barriers to voter registration, and potentially disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.
In a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Attorney General James and her colleagues stated that the bill would require all Americans to provide documentary proof of citizenship in person to register or update their voter information. This requirement would effectively end online, mail-in, and automatic voter registration across the country.
Attorney General James said, “The right to vote in free and fair elections has long been a critical part of our democracy. The SAVE America Act is an unconstitutional power grab that would dismantle modern voter registration systems and block millions of eligible Americans from the ballot box. Congress cannot invent a problem to justify stripping states of their authority and disenfranchising lawful voters.”
The coalition argued that if enacted, the SAVE America Act would remove online registration options used by most states and eliminate mail-in registration methods relied upon by service members and overseas voters. Automatic voter registration systems that help maintain accurate records would also be affected. According to their statement, these changes could have significant negative impacts on working-class citizens, rural residents, young people, and those whose legal names differ from their birth certificates.
They cited estimates showing that about 21 million voting-age citizens lack immediate access to documents such as passports or birth certificates. Nearly 80 percent of married women may not have documentation reflecting their current legal name.
The attorneys general emphasized that citizenship is already required for voting in federal elections. Both state and federal authorities currently use various systems to verify eligibility. They pointed out that noncitizen voting is extremely rare and has not influenced federal election results, while requiring documentary proof can prevent tens of thousands of eligible citizens from voting.
Attorney General James called on lawmakers to oppose any move toward nationalizing election administration and urged them instead to respect state control over elections.
Letitia James leads the New York Attorney General’s office according to its official website. The office serves as a public law enforcement agency for New York and works through regional offices across the state on local legal matters. It promotes social justice through civil rights enforcement and consumer advocacy, provides services like consumer fraud investigations and tenant dispute mediation, protects public safety, defends civil rights, upholds consumer protections and preserves the environment.
Other attorneys general joining this letter represent California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.
