[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 116 (Monday, July 15, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      OPPOSING H.R. 8281--SAVE ACT

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 15, 2024

  Ms. SEWELL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to include in the Record a 
letter from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights that 
indicates the strong opposition to the SAVE Act of 146 local, state, 
and national organizations.

                                                     May 16, 2024.
     Hon. Bryan Steil,
     Chair, Committee on House Administration, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Joe Morelle,
     Ranking Member, Committee on House Administration, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Chair Steil and Ranking Member Morelle: On behalf of 
     the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a 
     coalition of national organizations committed to promoting 
     and protecting the civil and human rights of all persons in 
     the United States, the Declaration for American Democracy, a 
     coalition of local, state, and national organizations working 
     to strengthen U.S. democracy; and the undersigned 123 
     organizations, we write in strong opposition to the Safeguard 
     American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
       Congress has a pivotal constitutional responsibility to 
     safeguard free and fair elections and to ensure all Americans 
     have the freedom to vote. The SAVE Act represents a dangerous 
     departure from fulfilling this vital duty. The bill's 
     requirement of documentary proof of American citizenship to 
     register to vote in federal elections is wholly based on 
     falsehoods and, even worse, seeks to promote fear-mongering 
     and divisive rhetoric. Instead of proceeding with this 
     legislation, Congress should take actions that will help 
     voters and promote democracy such as passing legislation that 
     will strengthen protections against discrimination in voting 
     and expand access to the ballot for all communities.
       The SAVE Act is both unnecessary and dangerous. Our 
     electoral system already deploys processes to ensure that our 
     elections are secure and that only eligible voters are 
     participating in our democracy. Voters in every state are 
     already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status 
     when registering to vote. State election officials already 
     have in place existing systems to verify an individual's 
     voter eligibility and ensure voter rolls are accurate.
       Moreover, federal law already prohibits noncitizens from 
     voting in federal elections. Every single state bans 
     noncitizens from voting in state elections. These protections 
     have proven very effective, given that there is simply no 
     evidence of widespread noncitizen voting in elections. 
     Indeed, it defies logic that non-U.S. citizens would risk 
     their immigration status, the potential of criminal 
     prosecution, future opportunity for naturalization, and 
     freedom for themselves and their families by unlawfully 
     committing an affirmative act to vote in an election in which 
     they are prohibited from participating. The penalties for 
     registering or voting as a non-U.S. citizen include 
     imprisonment or deportation. The risks for any non-U.S. 
     citizen to vote in a federal election are serious and steep, 
     and our laws already effectively prevent significant unlawful 
     voter registration and voting.
       Introduction and advancement of this bill is the most 
     recent example of what has been a string of recent efforts to 
     make voter registration and voting more difficult, 
     particularly for voters of color. False claims of non-citizen 
     voting have been disingenuously used to enact more onerous 
     voter identification requirements, limitations on voter 
     assistance in languages other than English, and attempts to 
     spread misinformation about voting. This legislation seeks to 
     intimidate members of immigrant communities and communities 
     of color from exercising their lawful right to vote. It also 
     would make it harder for voters of color and naturalized 
     citizens to register to vote and would prevent their full 
     participation in democracy. These are already communities who 
     are unfairly targeted by anti-immigrant policies at the 
     federal, state, and local level. Congress should be doing 
     everything possible to encourage and promote the political 
     participation of these citizens, rather than seeking to 
     diminish it through threats and fear tactics.
       Legislation like the SAVE Act is intended to elicit 
     irrational fear of the growing number of citizens of color. 
     Congress should instead act to ensure that every eligible 
     U.S. citizen has the freedom to vote unimpeded by 
     discriminatory rules rooted in fear and division. We urge you 
     to instead focus on passing real pro-voter reforms to ensure 
     that everyone can fully participate in our democracy. If you 
     have any questions, please contact Leslie Proll, senior 
     director of the voting rights program at The Leadership 
     Conference, at [email protected].
           Sincerely,
       The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; 
     Declaration for American Democracy; 18by Vote; Accountable 
     US; Advancement Project; AFT; All About The Ballots; All On 
     The Line; All Voting Is Local Action; America's Voice; 
     American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD); 
     American Association of University Women (AAUW); American 
     Civil Liberties Union; American Federation of State County 
     and Municipal Employees; Arab American Institute (AAI); Asian 
     American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF); Asian 
     Americans Advancing Justice--AAJC; Asian and Pacific Islander 
     American Vote (APIA Vote); Autistic Self Advocacy Network.
       Baltimore County Progressive Democrats Club; Black Voters 
     Matter Fund; Brennan Center for Justice; Campaign Legal 
     Center; Carolina Jews for Justice; Center for Common Ground; 
     Center for Living & Working, Inc.; Center for Popular 
     Democracy; Chicago Survivors; Chispa LCV; CivicGeorgia; Clean 
     Elections Texas; Coalition on Human Needs; Common Cause; 
     Common Defense; Communications Workers of America; Courage 
     for America; Defend Democracy; DemCast USA; Democracy 21.
       Democracy Maine; Democracy Matters; Democracy SENTRY; 
     Demos; Detroit Disability Power; End Citizens United // Let 
     America Vote Action Fund; Fair Elections Center; Faith 
     Commons; Faith in Public Life Action; Fix Democracy First; 
     FLIC Votes; Free Speech For People; Georgia Coalition for the 
     Peoples Agenda; Get Money Out--Maryland; Government 
     Information Watch; Greenpeace USA; HeadCount; Helping Hands 
     Outreach Services of Mississippi; Hip Hop Caucus; Indivisible 
     Santa Fe.
       Interfaith Alliance; Japanese American Citizens League; 
     JustLeadership USA; LDF; League of Conservation Voters; 
     League of Women Voters of the United States; MALDEF; Memphis 
     APRI; Missouri Voter Protection Coalition; MomsRising; 
     MoveOn; Muslims for Community, Action and Support (MCAS); 
     N.C. For the People Action; NALEO Educational Fund; National 
     Action Network; National Asian Pacific American Bar 
     Association (NAPABA); National Association of Councils on 
     Developmental Disabilities; National Association of Social 
     Workers; National Community Action Partnership; National 
     Council of Jewish Women.
       National Disability Rights Network (NDRN); National 
     Education Association; National Employment Law Project; 
     National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC); 
     National Urban League; Native American Rights Fund; NETWORK 
     Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; New Georgia Project Action 
     Fund; Out of Many 1 Advocacy; People For the American Way; 
     People Power United; Pride at Work; Project On Government 
     Oversight; Protect Democracy; Public Citizen; RepresentUs; 
     RespectAbility; Safer Country; Scrutineers; Secure Elections 
     Network; Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund.
       Stand UP Alaska; Stand Up America; State Voices; Storied 
     Analytics LLC; The National Vote; The Workers Circle; 
     Transformative Justice Coalition; Transparency International 
     U.S.; Un-PAC; UnidosUS; Unitarian Universalists for Social 
     Justice; United Church of Christ; Vote.org; Voter 
     Participation Center; Voters Rights and Protection Taskforce; 
     Voto Latino; WALKING TO FIX OUR DEMOCRACY; We Are All 
     America; Westchester for Change; Wind of the Spirit Immigrant 
     Resource Center; Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice; Women's 
     March; WV Citizen Action; WV FREE (West Virginia Focus: 
     Reproductive Education and Equity); ZERO TO THREE.

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